THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

BEQUEST  OF 

Alice  R.   Hilgard 


imp  fitcl) 


PUBLISHED  BY 

HOUGHTON   MIFFLIN  COMPANY 


CORNELIA  :    The  Story  of  a  Benevolent  Des 
pot.     Illustrated. 

THE  SCOTCH  TWINS.     Illustrated. 
THE  FRENCH  TWINS.     Illustrated. 
THE  BELGIAN  TWINS.     Illustrated. 
THE  CAVE  TWINS.     Illustrated. 
THE  MEXICAN  TWINS.     Illustrated. 
THE  ESKIMO  TWINS.     Illustrated. 
THE  IRISH  TWINS.     Illustrated. 
THE  JAPANESE  TWINS.    Illustrated. 
THE  DUTCH  TWINS.     Illustrated. 


THE  IRISH  TWINS 

By  Lucy  Fitch  jerkins 

ILLUSTRATED    BY   THE   AUTHOR 


BOSTON   AND  NEW  YORK 
HOUGHTON   MIFFLIN   COMPANY 
tttoettfDe  pntf*  Cambrib&e 


COPYRIGHT,    1913,   BY   LUCY    FITCH   FRRKINS 
ALL  RIGHTS    RESERVED 


GIFT 


CONTENTS 


I.  GRANNIE  MALONE  AND  THE  TWINS     . 
II.  THE  TEA-PARTY       .         .        .        . 

III.  THE  TALE  OF  THE  LEPRECHAUN 

IV.  THE  TINKERS  .        .        .        . 

V.  THE  TWINS  GET  HOME       .        •        • 

VI.    HOW   THEY   WENT  TO  THE    BOG  . 

VII.  THE  BOG     .        .        •        .        .        • 

VIII.    "DlDDY"  .  .  . 

IX.  THE  SECRET        .        «       •       •        • 
X.  SCHOOL    .        •        *       *       •  ^  % 

iii 


33 
43 
57 
67 

77 

85 

101 

"3 


£1$  r? 

hfl 


M886073 


XI.  THE  FAIR 123 

XII.    HOW   THEY   SOLD   THE   PlG          ....          133 

XIII.  WHAT  THEY  SAW  145 

XIV.  SUNDAY    .  .....      161 

XV.    MR.  MCQUEEN   MAKES   UP   HIS   MlND  .  .  .171 

XVI.    MR.  MCQUEEN   PAYS   THE    RENT         .  .  .          l8l 

TWENTY  YEARS  AFTER        .        .        .        .        .197 


GRANNIE  MALONE  AND  THE 
TWINS 


I 

GRANNIE  MALONE  AND  THE 
TWINS 

ONE  day  of  the  world,  when  it  was  young 
summer  in  Ireland,  old  Grannie  Malone  sat 
by  her  fireplace  knitting.  She  was  all  alone, 
and  in  her  lap  lay  a  letter. 

Sometimes  she  took  the  letter  in  her 
hands,  and  turned  it  over  and  over,  and 
looked  at  it.  Then  she  would  put  it  down 
again  with  a  little  sigh. 

"  If  I  but  had  the  learning,"  said  Grannie 
Malone  to  herself,  "  I  could  be  reading 
Michael's  letters  without  calling  in  the  Priest, 
and  't  is  long  since  he  passed  this  door.  'T  is 
hard  work  waiting  until  some  one  can  tell 
me  what  at  all  is  in  it." 

She  stooped  over  and  put  a  bit  of  peat  on 
the  fire,  and  because  she  had  no  one  else  to 
talk  to,  she  talked  to  the  tea-kettle,  "  There 

3 


now,"  she  said  to  it,  "  't  is  a  lazy  bit  of  steam 
that 's  coming  out  of  the  nose  Of  you  !  I  '11 
be  wanting  my  tea  soon,  and  no  water 
boiling." 

She  lifted  the  lid  and  peeped  into  the 
kettle.  "Tis  empty  entirely!"  she  cried, 
"and  a  thirsty  kettle  it  is  surely,  and  no  one 
but  myself  to  fetch  and  carry  for  it  I  " 

She  got  up  slowly,  laid  her  knitting  and 
the  letter  on  the  chair,  took  the  kettle  off 
the  hook,  and  went  to  the  door. 

There  was  but  one  door  and  one  window 
in  the  one  little  room  of  her  cabin,  so  if  the 
sun  had  not  been  shining  brightly  it  would 
have  been  quite  dark  within. 

But  the  upper  half  of  the  door  stood  open, 
and  the  afternoon  sun  slanted  across  the 
earthen  floor  and  brightened  the  dishes  that 
stood  on  the  old  dresser.  It  even  showred 
Grannie  Malone's  bed  in  the  far  end  of  the 
room,  and  some  of  her  clothes  hanging  from 
the  rafters  overhead. 

There  was  little  else  in  the  room  to  see, 
except  her  chair,  a  wooden  tabls,  and  3 

4 


fittle  bench  by  the  fire,  a  pile  of  peat  on  the 
hearth,  and  a  bag  of  potatoes  in  the  corner. 

Grannie  Malone  opened  the  lower  half  of 
the  door  and  stepped  out  into  the  sunshine. 
Some  speckled  hens  that  had  been  sunning 
themselves  on  the  doorstep  fluttered  out  of 
the  way,  and  then  ran  after  her  to  the  well. 

"  Shoo — get  along  with  you ! "  cried  Gran 
nie  Malone.  She  flapped  her  apron  at  them. 
"  'T  is  you  that  are  always  thinking  of  some 
thing  to  eat !  Sure,  there  are  bugs  enough 
in  Ireland,  without  your  always  being  at 
my  heels  to  be  fed  !  Come  now,  —  scratch 
for  your  living  like  honest  hens,  and  I  '11 
give  you  a  sup  of  water  if  it 's  dry  you  are." 

The  well  had  a  stone  curb  around  it,  and 
a  bucket  with  a  rope  tied  to  it  stood  on  the 
curb.  Grannie  let  the  bucket  down  into  the 
well  until  she  heard  it  strike  the  fresh  spring 
water  with  a  splash.  Then  she  pulled  and 
pulled  on  the  rope.  The  bucket  came  up 
slowly  and  water  spilled  over  the  sides  as 
Grannie  lifted  it  to  the  curb. 

She  poured  some  of  the  water  into  the 

5 


dish  for  the  hens,  filled  her  kettle,  and  then 
straightened  her  bent  back,  and  stood  look 
ing  at  the  little  cabin  and  the  brown  bog 
beyond. 

"  Sure,  it's  old  we  all  are  together,"  she 
said  to  herself,  nodding  her  head.  "The  old 
cabin  with  the  rain  leaking  through  the 
thatch  of  a  wet  day,  and  the  old  well  with 
moss  on  the  stones  of  it.  And  the  hens 
themselves,  too  old  to  cook,  and  too  old  to 
be  laying,  --  except  on  the  doorstep  in  the 
sunshine,  the  creatures !  —  But  't  is  home, 
thanks  be  to  God/' 


She  lifted  her  kettle  and  went  slowly  back 
into  the  house.  The  hens  followed  her  to 
the  door,  but  she  shut  the  lower  half  of  it 
behind  her  and  left  them  outside. 

She  went  to  the  fireplace  and  hung  the 
kettle  on  the  hook,  blew  the  coals  to  a 
blaze  with  a  pair  of  leaky  bellows,  and  sat 
down  before  the  fire  once  more  to  wait  for 
the  water  to  boil. 

She  knit  round  and  round  her  stocking, 
and  there  was  no  sound  in  the  room  but  the 
click-click  of  her  needles,  and  the  tick-tick 
of  the  clock,  and  the  little  purring  noise  of 
the  fire  on  the  hearth. 

Just  as  the  kettle  began  to  sing,  there  was 
a  squawking  among  the  hens  on  the  door 
step,  and  two  dark  heads  appeared  above 
the  closed  half  of  the  door. 

A  little  girl's  voice  called  out,  "  How  are 
you  at  all,  Grannie  Malone?" 

And  a  little  boy's  voice  said,  " We've 
come  to  bring  you  a  sup  of  milk  that  Mother 
sent  you." 

Graanie  Malone  jumped  out  of  her  chair 

7 


and  ran  to  the  door.  "Och,  if  it's  not  the 
McQueen  Twins --the  two  of  them!"  she 
cried.  "  Bless  your  sweet  faces!  Come  in, 
Larry  and  Eileen !  You  are  as  welcome  as 
the  flowers  of  spring.  And  how  is  your 
Mother,  the  day  ?  May  God  spare  her  to 
her  comforts  for  long  years  to  come ! " 
She  swung  the  door  open  as  she  talked, 

8 


took  the  jug  from  Eileen's  hand,  and  poured 
the  milk  into  a  jug  of  her  own  that  stood 
on  the  dresser. 

"  Sure,  Mother  is  well.  And  how  is  your 
self,  Grannie  Malone?"  Eileen  answered, 
politely. 

"  Barring  the  rheumatism  and  the  asthma, 
and  the  old  age  in  my  bones,  I  'm  doing 
well,  thanks  be  to  God, ' '  said  Grannie  Malone. 
11  Sit  down  by  the  fire,  now,  till  I  wet  a  cup 
of  tea  and  make  a  cakeen  for  you  !  And  in 
deed  it's  yourselves  can  read  me  a  letter 
from  my  son  Michael,  that 's  in  America ! 
It  has  been  in  the  house  these  three  days 
waiting  for  some  one  with  the  learning  to 
come  along  by." 

She  ran  to  the  chair  and  picked  up  the 
letter.  The  Twins  sat  down  on  a  little  bench 
by  the  fireplace,  and  Grannie  Malone  put 
the  letter  in  their  hands. 

"  We've  not  got  all  the  learning  yet," 
Larry  said.  "  We  might  not  be  able  to  read 
it." 

"You  can  try,"  said  Grannie    Malone. 

9 


Then  she  opened  the  letter,  and  a  bit  of 
folded  green  paper  with  printing  on  it  fell 
out.  ' '  God  bless  the  boy, ' '  she  cried, ' '  there 's 
one  of  those  in  every  letter  he  sends  me ! 
'T  is  money  that  is  !  Can  you  make  out  the 
figures  on  it,  now  ?  " 

Larry  and  Eileen  looked  it  over  carefully. 
"  There  it  is,  hiding  in  the  corner,"  said 
Larry.  He  pointed  to  a  "5  "  on  the  green 
paper. 

"  Five  pounds  it  is!  "said  Grannie  Malone. 
"  Sure  it's  a  fortune!  Oh,  it's  himself  is 
the  good  son  to  me !  What  does  the  letter 
say?" 

The  Twins  spread  the  sheet  open  and 
studied  it,  while  Grannie  -hovered  over 
them,  trembling  with  excitement. 

"  Sure,  that's  Dear,  is  n't  it  ?  "  said  Eileen, 
pointing  to  the  first  word. 

"Sure,"  said  Larry;  "  letters  always  be 
gin  like  that." 

"  Efear  G-r-a-n-n-i-e,"  spelled  Eileen. 
"  What  could  that  be  but  Grannie?" 

"  'T  is  from  my  grandson,  young  Patrick, 
10 


then," cried  Grannie.  "  Indeed,  he's  but  the 
age  of  yourselves !  How  old  are  you  at  all  ?  " 

"We're  seven,"  said  the  Twins. 

"  Patrick  might  be  eight,"  said  his  Grand 
mother,  "  but  surely  the  clever  children  like 
yourselves  and  the  two  of  you  together 
should  be  able  to  make  it  out.  There  's  but 
one  of  Patrick,  and  there  should  be  more 
learning  between  the  two  of  you  than  in 
one  alone,  even  though  he  is  a  bit  older  1 
Try  now." 

Larry  and  Eileen  tried.  This  was  the 
ii 


letter.    It  was  written  in  a  large  staggery 
hand. 


/)-&*&; 


uWill  you  listen   to  that  now!"   cried 
Grannie  Malone.   "  Is  it  taking  me  back  to 

12 


America,  he  'd  be  !  T  is  a  terrible  journey 
altogether,  and  a  strange  country  at  the 
end  of  it,  for  me  to  be  laying  my  old  bones 
in  I  But  I  'd  be  a  proud  woman  to  see  my 
own  son,  in  any  country  of  the  world,  and 
he  an  alderman  1  " 

There  was  a  letter  from  Michael  him 
self  in  the  envelope  also,  but  the  Twins 
could  not  read  that,  however  much  they 
tried. 

So  Grannie  was  obliged  to  put  the  two 
letters  and  the  green  paper  under  the  clock 
over  the  fireplace,  to  wait  until  the  Priest 
should  pass  that  way. 


/-SL        >^  ^O- 

^.vV^ 


II 

THE  TEA-PARTY 


II 

THE  TEA-PARTY 

*'SuRE,  this  is  a  fine  day  for  me,  alto 
gether,"  said  Grannie  Malone  as  she  got 
out  her  bit  of  flour  to  make  the  cake.  "  I 
can  wait  for  the  letter  from  himself,  the 
way  I  know  they're  in  health,  and  have 
not  forgotten  their  old  Mother.  Troth,  we  '11 
have  a  bit  of  a  feast  over  it  now,"  she  said 
to  the  Twins.  " While  I'm  throwing  the 
cakeen  together  do  you  get  some  potatoes 
from  the  bag,  Eileen,  and  put  them  down 
in  the  ashes,  and  "you,  Larry,  stir  up  the 
fire  a  bit,  and  keep  the  kettle  full.  Sure,  'tis 
singing  away  like  a  bird  this  instant  min 
ute!  Put  some  water  in  it,  avic,  and  then 
shut  up  the  hens  for  me." 

Eileen  ran  to  the  potato  bag  in  the  cor 
ner  and  took  out  four  good-sized  potatoes. 
"  There 's  but  three  of  us,"  she  said  to  her* 


self,  "  but  Larry  will  surely  be  wanting 
two,  himself." 

She  got  down  on  her  knees  and  buried 
the  potatoes  in  the  burning  peat.  Then  she 
took  a  little  broom  that  stood  near  by,  and 
tidied  up  the  hearth. 

Larry  took  the  kettle  to  the  well  for 
more  water.  ,He  slopped  a  good  deal  of  it 
as  he  came  back.  It  made  great  spots  of 

18 


mud,  for  there  was  no  wooden  floor  — 
only  hard  earth  with  flat  stones  set  in  it. 

"Arrah  now,  Larry,  you  do  be  slopping 
things  up  the  equal  of  a  thunderstorm," 
Eileen  said  to  him. 

"  Never  you  mind  that,  now,  Larry/' 
said  Grannie  Malone.  "  It  might  have  been 
that  the  kettle  leaked  itself,  and  no  fault  of 
your  own  at  all !  Sure,  a  bit  of  water  here 
or  there  does  nobody  any  harm." 

She  hung  the  tea-kettle  on  the  hook  over 
the  fire  again.  Then  she  brought  the  cakeen 
and  put  it  into  a  small  iron  baking-kettle, 
and  put  a  cover  over  it.  She  put  turf  on 
top  of  the  cover.  "  'Twill  not  be  long  until 
it's  baked,"  said  Grannie,  "and  you  can 
be  watching  it,  Eileen,  while  I  set  out  the 
table." 

She  pulled  a  little  wooden  table  out  be 
fore  the  fire,  put  three  plates  and  three 
cups  on  it,  some  salt,  and  the  jug  of  milk. 
Meanwhile  Larry  was  out  trying  to  shut 
the  hens  into  the  little  shelter  beside  the 
house.  But  he  couldn't  get  them  all  in. 

19 


One  old  speckled  hen  ran  round  the  house 
to  the  door.  Larry  ran  after  her.  The  hen 
flew  up  on  top  of  the  half-door.  She  was 
very  much  excited.  "  Cut-cut-cut,"  she 
squawked. 

"Cut-cut  yourself  now!"  cried  Grannie 
Malone. 

She  ran  toward  the  door,  waving  her 
spoon.  "  Shoo  along  out  of  this  with  your 
bad  manners!  "  she  cried. 

Just  that  minute  Larry  came  up  behind 
the  hen  and  tried  to  catch  her  by  the  legs. 

* '  Cut  -  cut  -  cut  -  a  -  cut, ' '  squawked  old 
Speckle;  and  up  she  flew,  right  over 
Grannie's  head,  into  the  rafters!  Then  she 
tucked  herself  cozily  down  to  go  to  sleep. 

"  Did  you  ever  see  the  likes  of  that  old 
Speckle,  now  ? "  cried  Grannie  Malone. 
She  ran  for  the  broom.  "Sure  she  must  be 
after  thinking  I  was  lonesome  for  a  bit  of 
company !  Do  you  think  I  'd  be  wanting 
you  at  all,  you  silly,  when  I  have  the 
Twins  by  me?"  she  said  to  the  hen.  She 
shook  the  broom  at  her,  but  old  Speckle 

20 


was  n't  a  bit  afraid  of  Grannie;  she  did  n't 
move. 

Then  Grannie  Malone  put  the  broom  un 
der  her  and  tried  to  lift  her  from  her  perch, 
but  old  Speckle  had  made  up  her  mind  to 

21 


stay.  So  she  flew  across  to  another  rafter, 
and  lit  on  Grannie  Malone's  black  coat  that 
she  wore  to  Mass  on  Sundays.  She  thought 
it  a  pleasant  warm  place  and  sat  down  again. 

"Bad  luck  to  you  for  an  ill-favored  old 
thief!"  screamed  Grannie.  "Get  off  my 
Sunday  cloak  with  your  muddy  feet  !  It  's 
ruined  you  '11  have  me  entirely  !  " 

She  shook  the  cloak.  Then  old  Speckle, 
squawking  all  the  way,  flew  over  to  Grannie's 
bed  !  She  ran  the  whole  length  of  it.  She 
left  a  little  path  clear  across  the  patchwork 
quilt.  Larry  stood  in  one  corner  of  the  room 
waving  his  arms.  Eileen  was  flapping  her 
apron  in  another,  while  Grannie  Malone 
chased  old  Speckle  with  the  broom.  At  last, 
with  a  final  squawk,  she  flew  out  of  the 
door,  and  ran  round  to  the  shelter  where 
the  other  hens  were,  and  went  in  as  if  she 
thought  home  was  the  best  place  for  a  hen 
after  all.  Larry  shut  her  in. 

As  soon  as  the  hen  was  out  of  the  house, 
Eileen  screamed,  "  I  smell  something  burn* 


22 


"'T  is  the  cakeen,"  cried  Grannie. 

She  and  Eileen  flew  to  the  fireplace. 
Eileen  got  there  first.  She  knocked  the 
cover  off  the  little  kettle  with  the  tongs,  and 
out  flew  a  cloud  of  smoke. 

"Och,  murder  1  'T  is  destroyed  en 
tirely  1 "  poor  Grannie  groaned. 

23 


"I  '11  turn  it  quick,"  said  Eileen. 

She  was  in  such  a  hurry  she  did  n't  wait 
for  a  fork  or  stick  or  anything !  She  took 
right  hold  of  the  little  cakeen,  and  lifted  it 
out  of  the  kettle  with  her  hand ! 

The  little  cake  was  hot!  "  Ow !  Ow !  " 
shrieked  Eileen,  and  she  dropped  it  right 
into  the  ashes  !  Then  she  danced  up  and 
down  and  sucked  her  fingers. 

"The  Saints  help  us!  The  cakeen  is  be 
witched,"  wrailed  poor  Grannie.  She  picked 
it  up,  and  tossed  it  from  one  hand  to  the 
other,  while  she  blew  off  the  ashes. 

Then  she  dropped  it,  burned  side  up, 
into  the  kettle  once  more,  clapped  on  the 
cover,  and  set  it  where  it  would  cook  more 
slowly. 

When  that  was  done,  she  looked  at  Eileen's 
fingers.  "  It's  not  so  bad  at  all,  mavourneen, 
praise  be  to  God, ' '  she  said.  ' '  Sure,  I  thought 
I  had  you  killed  entirely,  the  way  you 
screamed !  " 

"  Eileen  is  always  burning  herself,"  said 
Larry.  "  Mother  says  't  is  only  when  she 's 

24 


burned  up  altogether  that  she'll  learn  to 
keep  out  of  the  fire  at  all !  " 

"'Twas  all  the  fault  of  that  disgraceful 
old  hen,"  Grannie  Malone  said.  "  Sure,  I  '11 
have  to  be  putting  manners  on  her!  She  's 
no  notion  of  behavior  at  all,  at  all.  Reach 
the  sugar  bowl,  Larry,  avic,  and  sit  down 
by  the  table  and  rest  your  bones.  I  '11  have 
the  tea  ready  for  you  in  a  minute.  Sit  you 
down,  too,  Eileen,  while  I  get  the  potatoes." 
She  took  the  tongs  and  drew  out  the  pota 
toes,  blew  off  the  ashes,  and  put  them  on 
the  table.  Then  she  poured  the  boiling 
water  over  the  tea-leaves,  and  set  the  tea 
to  draw,  while  she  took  the  cakeen  from  the 
kettle. 

"  'T  is  not  burned  so  much,  after  all,"  she 
said,  as  she  looked  it  over.  "Sure,  we  can 
shut  our  eyes  when  we  eat  it." 

She  drew  her  own  chair  up  to  the  table ; 
the  Twins  sat  on  the  bench  on  the  other 
side.  Grannie  Malone  crossed  herself,  and 
then  they  each  took  a  potato,  and  broke  it 
open.  They  put  salt  on  it,  poured  a  little 

25 


milk  into  the  skin  which  they  held  like  a 
cup,  and  it  was  ready  to  eat. 

Grannie  poured  the  tea,  and  they  had 
milk  and  sugar  in  it.  The  little  cakeen  was 
broken  open  and  buttered,  and,  "  Musha, 
'tis  fit  for  the  Queen  herself,"  said  Larry, 
when  he  had  taken  his  first  bite. 

And  Eileen  said,  "  Indeed,  ma'am,  it's  a 
grand  cook  you  are  entirely." 

"  Sure,  I  'd  need  to  be  a  grand  cook  with 
the  grand  company  I  have,"  Grannie  an 
swered  politely,  "and  with  the  fine  son  I 
have  in  America  to  be  sending  me  a  fortune 
in  every  letter  !  'T  is  a  great  thing  to  have 
a  good  son,  and  do  you  be  that  same  to 
your  Mother,  the  both  of  you,  for  't  is  but 
one  Mother  that  you  '11  get  in  all  the  world, 
and  you  Ve  a  right  to  be  choice  of  her." 

"  Sure,  I  '11  never  at  all  be  a  good  son  to 
my  Mother,"  laughed  Eileen. 

"Well,  then,"  said  Grannie,  "you  can 
be  a  good  daughter  to  her,  and  that 's  not 
far  behind.  Whist  now,  till  I  tell  you  the 
story  of  the  Little  Cakeen,  and  you  '11  see 

26 


that  't  is  a  good  thing  entirely  to  behave 
yourselves  and  grow  up  fine  and  respectable, 
like  the  lad  in  the  tale.  It  goes  like  this 
now : '  — 

"It  was  once  long  ago  in  old  Ireland, 
there  was  living  a  fine,  clean,  honest,  poor 
widow  woman,  and  she  having  two  sons. 

1  Adapted  from  "  Marygold  House,"  in  Play-Days,  by 
Sarah  Orne  Jewett. 


and  she  fetched  the  both  of  them  up  fine 
and  careful,  but  one  of  them  turned  out  bad 
entirely.  And  one  day  she  says  to  him,  says 
she:  — 

" '  I  Ve  given  you  your  living  as  long  as 
ever  I  can,  and  it 's  you  must  go  out  into 
the  wide  world  and  seek  your  fortune/ 

"'  Mother,  I  will/  says  he. 

"  '  And  will  you  take  a  big  cake  with  my 
curse,  or  a  little  cake  with  my  blessing?' 
says  she. 

"  '  A  big  cake,  sure/  says  he. 

"  So  she  baked  a  big  cake  and  cursed  him, 
and  he  went  away  laughing !  By  and  by,  he 
came  forninst  a  spring  in  the  woods,  and  sat 
down  to  eat  his  dinner  off  the  cake,  and  a 
small,  little  bird  sat  on  the  edge  of  the 
spring. 

"  '  Give  me  a  bit  of  your  cake  for  my  little 
ones  in  the  nest/  said  she;  and  he  caught 
up  a  stone  and  threw  at  her. 

"'I've  scarce  enough  for  myself/  says 
he,  and  she  being  a  fairy,  put  her  beak  in 
the  spring  and  turned  it  black  as  ink,  and 

28 


went  away  up  in  the  trees.  And  whiles  he 
looked  for  a  stone  for  to  kill  her,  a  fox  went 
away  with  his  cake ! 

"  So  he  went  away  from  that  place  very 
mad,  and  next  day  he  stopped,  very  hungry, 
at  a  farmer's  house,  and  hired  out  for  to  tend 
the  cows. 

"  '  Be  wise,'  says  the  farmer's  wife,  '  for 
the  next  field  is  belonging  to  a  giant,  and  if 
the  cows  get  into  the  clover,  he  will  kill  you 
dead  as  a  stone/ 

"  But  the  bad  son  laughed  and  went  out 
to  watch  the  COWTS  ;  and  before  noontime  he 
went  to  sleep  up  in  the  tree,  and  the  cows 
all  went  in  the  clover.  And  out  comes  the 
giant  and  shook  him  down  out  of  the  tree 
and  killed  him  dead,  and  that  was  the  end 
of  the  bad  son. 

"And  the  next  year  the  poor  widow 
woman  says  to  the  good  son  :  - 

"  '  You  must  go  out  into  the  wide  world 
and  seek  your  fortune,  for  I  can  keep  you 
no  longer/  says  the  Mother. 

"  '  Mother,  I  will/  says  he. 
29 


"  '  And  will  you  take  a  big  cake  with  my 
curse  or  a  little  cake  with  my  blessing  ? ' 

"  '  A  little  cake,'  says  he. 

11  So  she  baked  it  for  him  and  gave  him 
her  blessing,  and  he  went  away,  and  she 
a-weeping  after  him  fine  and  loud.  And  by 
and  by  he  came  to  the  same  spring  in  the 
woods  where  the  bad  son  was  before  him, 
and  the  small,  little  bird  sat  again  on  the 
side  of  it. 

"  'Give  me  a  bit  of  your  cakeen  for  my 
little  ones  in  the  nest,'  says  she. 

111 1  will,'  says  the  good  son,  and  he 
broke  her  off  a  fine  piece,  and  she  dipped 
her  beak  in  the  spring  and  turned  it  into 
sweet  wine;  and  when  he  bit  into  his  cake, 
sure,  it  was  turned  into  fine  plum-cake  en 
tirely;  and  he  ate  and  drank  and  went  on 
light-hearted.  And  next  day  he  comes  to 
the  farmer's  house. 

11  'Will  ye  tend  the  cows  for  me?'  says 
the  farmer. 

11 '  I  will,'  says  the  good  son. 

11 '  Be  wise/  says  the  farmer's  wife,  '  for 
3° 


the  clover-field  beyond  is  belonging  to  a 
giant,  and  if  you  leave  in  the  cows,  he  will 
kill  you  dead.' 

" '  Never  fear,'  says  the  good  son,  '  I 
don't  sleep  at  my  work.' 

"And  he  goes  out  in  the  field  and  lugs 
a  big  stone  up  in  the  tree,  and  then  sends 
every  cow  far  out  in  the  clover-fields  and 
goes  back  again  to  the  tree !  And  out 
comes  the  giant  a-roaring,  so  you  could 
hear  the  roars  of  him  a  mile  away,  and 
when  he  finds  the  cow-boy,  he  goes  under 
the  tree  to  shake  him  down,  but  the  good 
little  son  slips  out  the  big  stone,  and  it  fell 
down  and  broke  the  giant's  head  entirely. 
So  the  good  son  went  running  away  to  the 
giant's  house,  and  it  being  full  to  the  eaves 
of  gold  and  diamonds  and  splendid  things. 

"  So  you  see  what  fine  luck  comes  to 
folks  that  is  good  and  honest!  And  he 
went  home  and  fetched  his  old  Mother,  and 
they  lived  rich  and  contented,  and  died 
very  old  and  respected." 

"  Do  you  suppose  your  son  Michael 
31 


killed  any  giants  in  America,  the  way  he 
got  to  be  an  Alderman?"  asked  Eileen, 
when  Grannie  had  finished  her  story. 

"  I  don't  rightly  know  that,"  Grannie 
answered.  "  Maybe  it  wasn't  just  exactly 
giants,  but  you  can  see  for  yourself  that  he 
is  rich  and  respected,  and  he  with  a  silk  hat, 
and  riding  in  a  procession  the  same  as  the 
Lord-Mayor  himself!  " 

"  Did  you  ever  see  a  giant  or  a  fairy  or 
any  of  the  good  little  people  themselves, 
Grannie  Malone?"  Larry  asked. 

"  I  Ve  never  exactly  seen  any  of  them 
with  my  own  two  eyes,"  she  answered, 
"  but  many  is  the  time  I  've  talked  with 
people  and  they  having  seen  them.  There 
was  Mary  O'  Connor  now,  —  dead  long  since, 
God  rest  her.  She  told  me  this  tale  her 
self,  and  she  sitting  by  this  very  hearth. 
Wait  now  till  I  wet  my  mouth  with  a  sup 
of  tea  in  it,  and  I  '11  be  telling  you  the  tale 
the  very  same  way  she  told  it  herself." 


Ill 

THE  TALE  OF  THE 
LEPRECHAUN 


Ill 

THE  TALE  OF  THE 
LEPRECHAUN 

GRANNIE  reached  for  the  teapot  and 
poured  herself  a  cup  of  tea.  As  she  sipped 
it,  she  said  to  the  twins,  "  Did  you  ever 
hear  of  the  Leprechauns  ?  Little  men  they 
are,  not  half  the  bigness  of  the  smallest 
baby  you  ever  laid  your  two  eyes  on.  Long 
beards  they  have,  and  little  pointed  caps 
on  the  heads  of  them. 

"And  it's  forever  making  the  little 
brogues  (shoes)  they  are,  and  you  can 
hear  the  tap-tap  of  their  hammers  before 
you  ever  get  sight  of  them  at  all.  And 
the  gold  and  silver  and  precious  things 
they  have  hidden  away  would  fill  the  world 
with  treasures. 

"  But  they  have  the  sharpness  of  the 
new  moon,  that's  sharp  at  both  ends,  and 

35 


no  one  can  get  their  riches  away  from  them 
at  all.  They  do  be  saying  that  if  you  catch 
one  in  your  two  hands  and  never  take 
your  eyes  off  him,  you  can  make  him  give 
up  his  money. 

"  But  they  've  the  tricks  of  the  world  to 
make  you  look  the  other  way,  the  Lepre 
chauns  have.  And  then  when  you  look 
back  again,  faith,  they  're  nowhere  at  all !  " 

"  Did  Mary  O'Connor  catch  one?"  asked 
Eileen. 

"  Did  she  now !  "  cried  Grannie.  "  Listen 
to  this.  One  day  Mary  O'Connor  was  sit 
ting  in  her  bit  of  garden,  with  her  knitting 
in  her  hand,  and  she  was  watching  some 
bees  that  were  going  to  swarm. 

"  It  was  a  fine  day  in  June,  and  the  bees 
were  humming,  and  the  birds  were  chirp 
ing  and  hopping,  and  the  butterflies  were 
flying  about,  and  everything  smelt  as  sweet 
and  fresh  as  if  it  was  the  first  day  of  the 
world. 

"Well,  all  of  a  sudden,  what  did  she 
hear  among  the  bean-rows  in  the  garden 

36 


but  a  noise  that  went  tick-tack,  tick-tack, 
just  for  all  the  world  as  if  a  brogue-maker 
was  putting  on  the  heel  of  a  pump  I 

"'The  Lord  preserve  us/  says  Mary 
O'Connor;  'what  in  the  world  can  that 
be?' 

"  So  she  laid  down  her  knitting,  and  she 
went  over  to  the  beans.  Now,  never  be 
lieve  me,  if  she  didn't  see  sitting  right 
before  her  a  bit  of  an  old  man,  with  a 
cocked  hat  on  his  head  and  a  dudeen  (pipe) 
in  his  mouth,  smoking  away !  He  had  on 
a  drab-colored  coat  with  big  brass  buttons 
on  it,  and  a  pair  of  silver  buckles  on  his 
shoes,  and  he  working  away  as  hard  as 
ever  he  could,  heeling  a  little  pair  of 
pumps ! 

"  You  may  believe  me  or  not,  Larry  and 
Eileen  McQueen,  but  the  minute  she  clapped 
her  eyes  on  him,  she  knew  him  for  a  Le 
prechaun. 

"And  she  says  to  him  very  bold,  'God 
save  you,  honest  man !  That 's  hard  work 
you  're  at  this  hot  day  I '  And  she  made  a 

37 


run  at  him  and  caught  him  in  her  two 
hands ! 

" ' And  where  is  your  purse  of  money?' 
says  she. 

"  '  Money  !'  says  he;  'money  is  it!  And 
where  on  top  of  earth  would  an  old  creature 
like  myself  get  money  ? '  says  he. 

"  '  Maybe  not  on  top  of  earth  at  all,  but 
in  it/  says  she;  and  with  that  she  gave 
him  a  bit  of  a  squeeze.  '  Come,  come,'  says 
she.  '  Don't  be  turning  your  tricks  upon  an 
honest  woman ! ' 

11  And  then  she,  being  at  the  time  as  good- 
looking  a  young  woman  as  you  'd  find,  put 
a  wicked  face  on  her,  and  pulled  a  knife 
from  her  pocket,  and  says  she,  '  If  you  don't 
give  me  your  purse  this  instant  minute,  or 
show  me  a  pot  of  gold,  I  '11  cut  the  nose  off 
the  face  of  you  as  soon  as  wink.'  . 

"The  little  man's  eyes  were  popping  out 
of  his  head  with  fright,  and  says  he,  '  Come 
with  me  a  couple  of  fields  off,  and  I  '11  show 
you  where  I  keep  my  money ! ' 

"  So  she  went,  still  holding  him  fast  in  her 
38 


hand,  and  keeping  her  two  eyes  fixed  on 
him  without  so  much  as  a  wink,  when,  all 
of  a  sudden,  what  do  you  think  ? 

"She  heard  a  whiz  and  a  buzz  behind 
her,  as  if  all  the  bees  in  the  world  were 
humming,  and  the  little  old  man  cries  out, 
'  There  go  your  bees  a-swarming  and  a-go 
ing  off  with  themselves  like  blazes  1 ' 

"She  turned  her  head  for  no  more  than 
a  second  of  time,  but  when  she  looked  back 
there  was  nothing  at  all  in  her  hand. 

"He  slipped  out  of  her  fingers  as  if  he 
were  made  of  fog  or  smoke,  and  sorrow  a 
bit  of  him  did  she  ever  see  after." ' 

"  And  she  never  got  the  gold  at  all," 
sighed  Eileen. 

"  Never  so  much  as  a  ha'penny  worth/1 
said  Grannie  Malone. 

"  I  believe  I  'd  rather  get  rich  in  America 
than  try  to  catch  Leprechauns  fora  living," 
said  Larry. 

"  And  you  never  said  a  truer  word,"  said 
Grannie.  "  'T  is  a  poor  living  you'd  get 

1  Adapted  from  Thomas  Keightley's  Fairy  Mythology, 
39 


from  the  Leprechauns,  I  'm  thinking,  rich 
as  they  are." 

By  this  time  the  teapot  was  empty,  and 
every  crumb  of  the  cakeen  was  gone,  and 
as  Larry  had  eaten  two  potatoes,  just  as 
Eileen  thought  he  would,  there  was  little 
left  to  clear  away. 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon.  The  room 
had  grown  darker,  and  Grannie  Malone 
went  to  the  little  window  and  looked  out. 

"Now  run  along  with  yourselves  home," 
she  said,  "for  the  sun  is  nearly  setting 
across  the  bog,  and  your  Mother  will  be 
looking  for  you.  Here,  put  this  in  your 
pocket  for  luck."  She  gave  Larry  a  little 
piece  of  coal.  "  The  Good  Little  People  will 
take  care  of  good  children  if  they  have  a 
bit  o'  this  with  them,"  she  said ;  "  and  you, 
Eileen,  be  careful  that  you  don't  step  in  a 
fairy  ring  on  your  way  home,  for  you  've  a 
light  foot  on  you  like  a  leaf  in  the  wind,  and 
4  The  People '  will  keep  you  dancing  for 
dear  knows  how  long,  if  once  they  get  you." 

"We'll  keep  right  in  the  boreen  (road), 
40 


won't  we,  Larry  ?  Good-bye,  Grannie,"  said 
Eileen. 

The  Twins  started  home.    Grannie  Ma- 
41 


lone  stood  in  her  doorway,  shading  her 
eyes  with  her  hand,  and  looking  after  them 
until  a  turn  in  the  road  hid  them  from  sight. 
Then  she  went  into  her  little  cabin  and  shut 
the  door. 


IV 

THE  TINKERS 


IV 

THE  TINKERS 

AFTER  Larry  and  Eileen  had  gone  around 
the  turn  in  the  road  there  were  no  houses  in 
sight  for  quite  a  long  distance. 

On  one  side  of  the  road  stretched  the 
brown  bog,  with  here  and  there  a  pool  of 
water  in  it  which  shone  bright  in  the  colors 
of  the  setting  sun.  It  was  gay,  too,  with 
patches  of  yellow  buttercups,  of  primroses, 
and  golden  whins.  The  whins  had  been  in 
bloom  since  Easter,  for  Larry  and  Eileen 
had  gathered  the  yellow  flowers  to  dye 
their  Easter  eggs.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
road  the  land  rose  a  little,  and  was  so  cov 
ered  with  stones  that  it  seemed  as  if  there 
were  no  earth  left  for  things  to  grow  in.  Yet 
the  mountain  fern  took  root  there  and  made 
the  rocks  gay  with  its  green  fronds. 

The  sun  was  so  low  that  their  shadows 
45 


stretched  far  across  the  bogland  beside  them 
as  the  Twins  trudged  along. 

Three  black  ravens  were  flying  overhead, 
and  a  lark  was  singing  its  evening  song. 

Eileen  looked  up  in  the  sky.  "  There  's 
the  ghost  of  a  moon  up  there !  Look, 
Larry,"  she  said. 

Larry  looked  up.  There  floating  high 
above  them,  was  a  pale,  pale  moon,  almost 
the  color  of  the  sky  itself.  "It  looks  queer 
and  lonesome  up  there,"  he  said,  "and 
there  's  no  luck  at  all  in  three  ravens  flying. 
They  '11  be  putting  a  grudge  on  somebody's 
cow,  maybe.  I  wonder  where  the  little  lark 
does  be  hiding  herself." 

Larry  was  still  looking  up  in  the  sky  for 
the  little  lark,  when  Eileen  suddenly  seized 
his  arm.  "Whist,  Larry,"  she  whispered. 
"Look  before  you  on  the  road  ! " 

Larry  stopped  stock-still  and  looked.  A 
man  was  coming  toward  them.  The  man  was 
still  a  long  way  off,  but  they  could  see  that 
he  carried  something  on  his  back.  And  be 
side  the  road,  not  so  far  away  from  where  the 


Twins  stood,  there  was  a  camp,  like  a  gypsy 
camp. 

"'Tis  the  Tinkers!"  whispered  Larry. 
He  took  Eileen's  hand  and  pulled  her  with 
him  behind  a  heap  of  stones  by  the  road. 
Then  they  crept  along  very  quietly  and 
climbed  over  the  wall  into  a  field. 

From  behind  the  wall  they  could  peep 
between  the  stones  at  the  Tinkers'  "Camp 
without  being  seen. 

The  Twins  were  afraid  of  Tinkers.  Every 
body  is  in  Ireland,  because  the  Tinkers 
wander  around  over  the  country  without 
having  any  homes  anywhere. 

They  go  from  house  to  house  in  all  the 
villages  mending  the  pots  and  pans,  and 
often  they  steal  whatever  they  can  lay  their 
hands  on. 

At  night  they  sleep  on  the  ground  with 
only  straw  for  a  bed,  and  they  cook  in  a 
kettle  over  a  camp-fire. 

The  Twins  were  so  badly  scared  that 
their  teeth  chattered. 

Eileen  -was  the  first  to  say  anything. 
47 


41  However  will  we  g-g-g-get  home  at  all  ?" 
she  whispered.  "They  've  a  dog  with  them, 
and  he  '11  b-b-b-bark  at  us  surely.  Maybe 
he'll  bite  us!" 

They  could  see  a  woman  moving  about 
through  the  Camp.  She  had  a  fire  with  a 
kettle  hanging  over  it.  There  were  two  or 
three  other  people  about,  and  some  starved- 
looking  horses.  The  dog  was  lying  beside 
the  fire,  and  there  was  a  baby  rolling  about 
on  the  ground.  A  little  pig  was  tied  by  one 
hind  leg  to  a  thorn  bush. 

"If  the  dog  comes  after  us,"  said  Larry, 
"  I '!)  drop  a  stone  on  him,  out  of  a  tree,  just 

48 


the  way  the  good  son  did  in  the  story,  and 
kill  him  dead." 

"  But  there 's  never  a  tree  anywhere 
about,"  said  Eileen.  ''Sure,  that  is  no  plan 
at  all." 

"  That 's  a  true  word,"  said  Larry,  when 
he  had  looked  all  about  for  a  tree,  and  found 
none.  "We'll  have  to  think  of  something 
else." 

Then  he  thought  and  thought.  "We 
might  go  back  to  Grannie's,"  he  said  after 
a  while. 

"That  would  be  no  better,"  Eileen  whis 
pered,  "for,  surely,  our  Mother  would  go 
crazy  with  worry  ing  if  we  did  n'tcome  home, 
at  all,  and  we  already  so  late." 

"  Well,  then,"  Larry  answered,  "we  must 
just  bide  here  until  it 's  dark,  and  creep  by, 
the  best  way  we  can.  Anyway,  I  've  the 
piece  of  coal  in  my  pocket,  and  Grannie 
said  no  harm  would  come  to  us  at  all,  and 
we  having  it." 

Just  then  the  man,  who  had  been  coming 
up  the  road,  reached  the  Camp.  The  dog 

49 


ran  out  to  meet  him,  barking  joyfully.  The 
man  came  near  the  fire  and  threw  the  bundle 
off  his  shoulder.  It  was  two  fat  geese,  with 
their  legs  tied  together  1 

5° 


"The  Saints  preserve  us,"  whispered 
Eileen,  "if  those  are  n't  our  own  two  geese  I 
Do  you  see  those  black  feathers  in  their 
wings?" 

"  He's  the  thief  of  the  world,"  said  Larry. 

He  forgot  to  be  frightened  because  he 
was  so  angry,  and  he  spoke  right  out  loud  ! 
He  stood  up  and  shook  his  fist  at  the 
Tinker.  His  head  showed  over  the  top  of 
the  wall.  Eileen  jerked  him  down. 

"  Whist  now,  Larry  .darling,"  she  begged. 
"  If  the  dog  sees  you  once  he  '11  tear  you  to 
pieces." 

Larry  dropped  behind  the  wall  again,  and 
they  watched  the  Tinker's  wife  loosen  the 
string  about  the  legs  of  the  geese,  and  tie 
them  by  a  long  cord  to  the  bush,  beside 
the  little  pig.  Then  all  the  Tinker  people 
gathered  around  the  pot  and  began  to  eat 
their  supper. 

The  baby  and  the  dog  were  on  the  ground 
playing  together.  The  Twins  could  hear 
the  shouts  of  the  baby,  and  the  barks  of  the 
dog. 

5* 


It  was  quite  dusk  by  this  time,  but 
the  moon  grew  brighter  and  brighter  in 
the  sky,  and  the  flames  of  the  Tinkers'  fire 
glowed  more  and  more  red,  as  the  night 
came  on. 

"  Sure,  it  is  n't  going  to  get  real  dark  at 
all,"  whispered  Larry. 

"Then  we'd  better  be  going  now,"  said 
Eileen,  "for  the  Tinkers  are  eating  their 
supper,  and  their  backs  are  towards  the 
road,  and  we  '11  make  hardly  a  taste  of  noise 
with  our  bare  feet." 

They  crept  along  behind  the  rocks,  and 
over  the  wall.  "Now,"  whispered  Larry, 
"slip  along  until  we're  right  beside  them, 
and  then  run  like  the  wind !  ' 

The  Twins  took  hold  of  hands.  They 
could  hear  their  hearts  beat.  They  walked 
softly  up  the  road. 

The  Tinkers  were  still  laughing  and  talk 
ing  ;  the  baby  and  the  dog  kept  on  playing. 

The  Twins  were  almost  by,  when  all  of 
a  sudden,  the  geese  stood  up.  "  Squawk, 
squawk,"  they  cried.  "  Squawk,  squawk." 

52 


V  >.>    \ 


"  Whatever  is  the  matter  with  you,  now?" 
said  the  Tinker's  wife  to  the  geese.  "  Can't 
you  be  quiet?  "  The  dog  stopped  romping 
with  the  baby,  sniffed  the  air,  and  growled. 
"  Lie  down,"  said  the  woman  ;  "  there's  a 
bone  for  your  supper."  She  threw  the  dog 
a  bone.  He  sprang  at  it  and  began  to 
gnaw  it. 

Larry  and  Eileen  had  crouched  behind 
S3 


a  rock  the  minute  the  geese  began  to 
squawk.  "I  believe  they  know  us,"  whis 
pered  Eileen. 

They  waited  until  everything  was  quiet 
again.  Then  Larry  whispered,  "  Run  now, 
and  if  you  fall,  never  wait  to  rise  but  run 
till  we  get  to  Tom  Daly's  house  !•" 

Then  they  ran  !  The  soft  pat-pat  of  their 
bare  feet  on  the  dirt  road  was  not  heard  by 
the  Tinkers,  and  soon  another  turn  in  the 
road  hid  them  from  view,  but,  for  all  that, 
they  ran  and  ran,  ever  so  far,  until  some 
houses  were  in  sight. 

They  could  see  the  flicker  of  firelight  in 
the  windows  of  the  nearest  house.  It  was 
Tom  Daly's  house.  They  could  see  Tom's 
shadow  as  he  sat  at  his  loom,  weaving  flax 
into  beautiful  white  linen  cloth.  They  could 
hear  the  clack!  clack!  of  his  loom.  It  made 
the  Twins  feel  much  safer  to  hear  this  sound 
and  see  Tom's  shadow,  for  Tom  was  a 
friend  of  theirs,  and  they  often  went  into 
his  house  and  watched  him  weave  his 
beautiful  linen,  which  was  so  fine  that  the 

54 


Queen  herself  used  it.  Up  the  road,  in  the 
window  of  the  last  house  of  all,  a  candle 
shone. 

"  Sure,  Mother  is  watching  for  us,"  said 
Larry.  "She's  put  a  candle  in  the  win 
dow." 

They  went  on  more  slowly  now,  past 
55 


Tom  Daly's,  past  the  Maguires'  and  the 
O'Briens'  and  several  other  houses  on  the 
way,  and  when  they  were  quite  near  their 
own  home  Larry  said,  "  Sure,  I  '11  never 
travel  again  without  a  bit  of  coal  in  my 
pocket.  Look  at  all  the  danger  we  've  been 
in  this  night,  and  never  the  smallest  thing 
happening  to  us." 

And  Eileen  said,  "  Indeed,  musha,  'tis 
well  we  're  the  good  children !  Sure,  the 
Good  Little  People  would  never  at  all  let 
harm  come  to  the  likes  of  us,  just  as  Gran 
nie  said." 


V 

THE  TWINS  GET  HOME 


V 

THE  TWINS  GET  HOME 

WHEN  they  were  nearly  home,  the  Twins 
saw  a  dark  figure  hurrying  down  the  road, 
and  as  it  drew  near,  their  Mother's  voice 
called  to  them,  "  Is  it  yourselves,  'Larry 
and  Eileen,  and  whatever  kept  you  till  this 
hour  ?  Sure,  you  've  had  me  distracted 
entirely  with  wondering  what  had  become 
of  you  at  all !  And  your  Dada  sits  in  the 
room  with  a  lip  on  him  as  long  as  to-day 
and  to-morrow !  " 

The  Twins  both  began  to  talk  at  once. 
Their  mother  clapped  her  hands  over  her 
ears. 

"  Can't  you  hold  your  tongues  and  speak 
quietly  now  -  -  one  at  a  time  -  -  like  gentle 
men  and  ladies?"  she  said.  "Come  in  to 
your  father  and  tell  him  all  about  it." 

The  Twins  each  took  one  of  her  hands, 
59 


and  they  all  three  hurried  into  the  house. 
They  went  into  the  kitchen.  Their  Father 
was  sitting  by  the  chimney,  with  his  feet 
up,  smoking  his  pipe  when  they  came  in. 
He  brought  his  feet  to  the  floor  with  a 
thump,  and  sat  up  straight  in  his  chair. 

"  Where  have  you  been,  you  Spalpeens?" 
he  said.  "It's  nine  o'clock  this  instant 
minute." 

60 


The  Twins  both  began  again  to  talk. 
Their  Mother  flew  about  the  kitchen  to  get 
them  a  bite  of  supper. 

"  Come  now,"  said  the  Father,  "  I  can't 
hear  myself  at  all  with  the  noise  of  you.  Do 
you  tell  the  tale,  Larry." 

Then  Larry  told  them  about  the  cakeen, 
and  the  silk  hat,  and  Michael  Malone,  and 
the  Tinkers,  while  his  Mother  said,  "The 
Saints  preserve  us !  "  every  few  words,  and 
Eileen  interrupted  to  tell  how  brave  Larry 
had  been --"just  like  the  good  son  in 
Grannie  Malone's  tale,  for  all  the  world." 

But  when  they  came  to  the  geese  part 
of  the  story,  the  Father  said,  "  Blathers," 
and  got  up  and  hurried  out  to  the  place 
where  the  fowls  were  kept,  in  the  yard 
behind  the  house. 

In  a  few  minutes  he  came  in  again.  "  The 
geese  are  gone,"  he  said,  "and  that's  the 
truth  or  I  can't  speak  it!" 

"Bad  luck  to  the  thieves,  then,"  cried 
the  Mother.  "The  back  of  my  hand  to 
them!  Sure,  I  saw  a  rough,  scraggly  man 

61 


with  a  beard  on  him  like  a  rick  of  hay, 
come  along  this  very  afternoon,  and  I  up 
the  road  talking  with  Mrs.  Maguire !  I 
never  thought  he  'd  make  that  bold,  to 
carry  off  geese  in  the  broad  light  of  day ! 
And  me  saving  them  against  Christmas 
time,  tool" 

"  Wait  till  I  get  that  fellow  where  beating 
is  cheap,  and  I'll  take  the  change  out  of 
him  !  "  said  the  Father. 

Eileen  began  to  cry  and  Larry's  lip  trem 
bled. 

"  Come  here  now,  you  poor  dears,"  their 
Mother  said.  "  Sit  down  on  the  two  creep- 
eens  by  the  fire,  and  have  a  bite  to  eat  be 
fore  you  go  to  bed.  Indeed,  you  must  be 
starved  entirely,  with  the  running,  and  the 
fright,  and  all.  I  '11  give  you  a  drink  of  cold 
milk,  warmed  up  with  a  sup  of  hot  water 
through  it,  and  a  bit  of  bread,  to  comfort 
your  stomachs." 

While  the  Twins  ate  the  bread  and  drank 
the  milk,  their  Father  and  Mother  talked 
about  the  Tinkers.  "  Sure,  they  are  as  a 

62 


frost  in  spring,  and  a  blight  in  harvest,"  said 
Mrs.  McQueen.  "  I  wonder  wherever  they 
got  the  badness  in  them  the  way  they  have." 
"  I  Ve  heard  said  it  was  a  Tinker  that  led 
St.  Patrick  astray  when  he  was  in  Ireland," 
said  Mr.  McQueen.  "I  don't  know  if  it's  true 
or  not,  but  the  tale  is  that  he  was  brought 
here  a  slave,  and  that  it  would  take  a  hun 
dred  pounds  to  buy  his  freedom.  One  day, 
when  he  was  minding  the  sheep  on  the  hills, 

63 


he  found  a  lump  of  silver,  and  he  met  a 
Tinker  and  asked  him  the  value  of  it. 

"'Wirra,'  says  the  Tinker,  ''tis  naught 
but  a  bit  of  solder.  Give  it  to  me ! '  But  St. 
Patrick  took  it  to  a  smith  instead,  and  the 
smith  told  him  the  truth  about  it,  and  St. 
Patrick  put  a  curse  on  the  Tinkers,  that 
every  man's  face  should  be  against  them, 
and  that  they  should  get  no  rest  at  all  but 
to  follow  the  road." 

"  Some  say  they  do  be  walking  the  world 
forever,"  said  Mrs.  McQueen,  "  and  I  never 
in  my  life  met  any  one  that  had  seen  a 
Tinker's  funeral." 

"There'll  maybe  be  one  if  I  catch  the 
Tinker  that  stole  the  geese  ! "  Mr.  McQueen 
said  grimly. 

Mrs.  McQueen  laughed.  "  It 's  the  fierce 
one  you  are  to  talk,"  she  said,  "and  you 
that  good-natured  when  you  're  angry  that 
you'd  scare  not  even  a  fly!  Come  along 
now  to  bed  with  you,"  she  added  to  the 
Twins.  "  There  you  sit  with  your  eyes 
dropping  out  of  your  heads  with  sleep." 

64 


She  helped  them  undress  and  popped 
them  into  their  beds  in  the  next  room ;  then 
she  barred  the  door,  put  out  the  candle, 
covered  the  coals  in  the  fireplace,  and  went 
to  bed  in  the  room  on  the  other  side  of  the 
kitchen.  Last  of  all,  Mr.  McQueen  knocked 
the  ashes  from  his  pipe  against  the  chim 
ney-piece,  and  soon  everything  was  quiet 
in  their  cottage,  and  in  the  whole  village  of 
Ballymora  where  they  lived. 


VI 

HOW  THEY  WENT  TO  THE  BOG 


v  •«  •  VI  1  || 
HOW  THEY  WENT  TO  THE  BOG 

THE  next  morning  when  the  Twins  woke 
up,  the  sun  was  shining  in  through  the  one 
little  square  window  in  the  bedroom,  and 
lay  in  a  bright  patch  of  yellow  on  the  floor. 
Eileen  sat  up  in  bed  and  rubbed  her  eyes. 
Then  she  stuck  her  head  out  between  the 
curtains  of  her  bed.  "  Is  it  to-day  or  to-mor 
row?  I  don't  know,"  she  said. 

Larry  sat  up  in  his  bed  and  rubbed  his 
eyes.  He  peeped  out  from  his  curtains. 
"It  is  n't  yesterday,  anyway,"  he  said,  "and 
glad  I  am  for  that.  Do  you  mind  about  the 
Tinkers,  Eileen  ?  " 

"  I  do  so,"  said  Eileen,  "and  the  geese/' 

Their  Mother  heard  them  and  came  to  the 

door.  "  Sure,  I  thought  I  'd  let  you  sleep  as  late 

as  ever  you  liked,"  she  said,  "for  there  's  no 

school  to-day,  but  you  're  awake  and  clacking, 

69 


so  how  would  you  like  to  go  with  your  Dada 
to  the  bog  to  cut  turf?  Himself  will  put  a 
bit  of  bread  in  his  pocket  for  you,  and  you 
can  take  a  sup  of  milk  along." 

"Oh,  wirra!"  cried  Eileen.  "What  have 
we  done  but  left  the  milk-jug  at  Grannie 
Malone's ! " 

"You  can  take  the  milk  in  the  old  brown 
jug,  then,"  said  the  Mother,  "  and  come 
along  home  by  way  of  Grannie's,  and  get 
the  jug  itself.  I  'd  like  your  Father  to  get  a 
sight  of  the  Tinkers'  Camp,  and  maybe  of 
that  thief  of  the  world  that  stole  the  geese 
on  us." 

It  did  n't  take  the  Twins  long  to  dress. 
They  wore  few  clothes,  and  no  shoes  and 
stockings,  and  their  breakfast  of  bread  and 
potatoes  was  soon  eaten.  The  Mother  had 
already  milked  the  cow,  and  when  they  had 
had  a  drink  of  fresh  milk  they  were  ready 
to  start. 

Mr.  McQueen  was  at  the  door  with  "Col 
leen,"  the  donkey,  and  when  Larry  and 
Eileen  came  out,  he  put  them  both  on 

70 


Colleen's  back,  and  they  started  down  the 
road  toward  the  bog. 

When  they  came  to  the  place  where  the 
Tinkers'  Camp  should  be,  there  was  no 
camp  there  at  all !  They  looked  east  and 

7* 


west,  but  no  sign  of  the  Tinkers  did  they 
see. 

"  If  it  were  not  for  the  two  geese  gone, 
I'd  think  you  had  been  dreaming!"  said 
Mr.  McQueen  to  the  Twins. 

"Look  there,  then,"  said  Larry.  "Sure, 
there's  the  black  mark  on  the  ground  where 
their  fire  was !  " 

The  Twins  slid  off  Colleen's  back,  and 
ran  to  the  spot  where  the  camp  had  been. 
There,  indeed,  was  the  mark  of  a  fire,  and 
near  by  were  some  wisps  of  straw.  There 
were  the  marks  of  horses'  feet,  too,  and 
Eileen  found  a  white  goose  feather  by  the 
thorn-bush,  and  a  piece  of  broken  rope. 

"They  were  here  surely,"  Mr.  McQueen 
said,  "and  far  enough  away  they  are  by  this 
time,  no  doubt.  It 's  likely  the  police  were 
after  them." 

They  went  back  to  the  road,  and  the 
Twins  got  up  again  on  Colleen's  back,  and 
soon  they  had  reached  the  near  end  of  the 
bog. 

Mr.  McQueen  stopped.    " I'll  be  cutting 

7* 


the  turf  here,"  he  said,  "and  the  two  of 
you  can  go  on  to  Grannie  Malone's  with  the 
donkey,  and  bring  back  the  jug  with  your 
selves.  Get  along  with  you,"  and  he  gave 
the  donkey  a  slap. 

The  Twins  and  the  donkey  started  along 
the  road.  Everything  went  well  until  Col 
leen  spied  a  tuft  of  green  thistles,  on  a  high 
bank  beside  the  road.  Colleen  loved  this 
tles,  and  she  made  straight  for  them.  The 
first  thing  the  Twins  knew  they  were  slid 
ing  swiftly  down  the  donkey's  back,  while 

73 


Colleen  stood  with  her  fore  feet  high  on  the 
bank  and  her  hind  feet  in  the  road. 

Larry,  being  behind,  landed  first,  with 
Eileen  on  top  of  him.  She  was  n't  hurt 
a  bit,  but  she  was  a  little  scared.  "Sure, 
Larry,  but  you  're  the  soft  one  to  fall  on," 
she  said  as  she  rolled  over  and  picked  her 
self  up. 

"  I  may  be  soft  to  fall  on,"  said  Larry, 
"but  I'm  the  easier  squashed  for  that! 
Look  at  me  now !  It 's  out  of  shape  I  am 
entirely,  with  the  print  of  yourself  on  me !  " 

Then  -- "  Whatever  will  we  do  with 
Colleen  ?  "  Eileen  said.  "  She  's  got  her  nose 
in  the  thistles  and  we  '11  never  be  able  to 
drag  her  away  from  them." 

They  pulled  on  the  halter,  but  Colleen 
refused  to  budge.  Larry  got  up  on  the 
bank  and  pushed  her.  He  .even  pulled  her 
backward  by  the  tail !  Colleen  did  n't  seem 
to  mind  it  at  all.  She  kept  right  on  eating 
the  thistles. 

At  last  Larry  said,  "You  go  on  with 
yourself  to  Grannie  Malone's  for  the  jug, 

74 


Eileen,  and  I  '11  stay  here  until  she  finishes 
the  thistles." 

So  he  sat  down  by  the  road  on  a  stone 
and  Eileen  trotted  off  to  Grannie's. 


vn 

THE  BOG 


VII 

THE  BOG 

WHEN  Eileen  got  back  with  the  jug,  she 
found  Larry  still  sitting  beside  the  road. 
He  was  talking  with  a  freckled-faced  boy, 
and  Colleen's  head  was  still  in  the  thistles. 

"  The  top  of  the  morning  to  you,  Dennis 
Maguire,"  Eileen  called  to  the  freckled  boy 
when  she  saw  him.  ' '  And  does  it  take  the  two 
of  you  to  watch  one  donkey  at  his  breakfast? 
Come  along  and  let's  play  in  the  bog! " 

"  But  however  shall  we  leave  Colleen? 
She  might  run  away  on  us,"  said  Larry. 

" She's  tethered  by  hunger  fast  enough," 
said  Eileen.  "  Ropes  would  not  drag  her 
away.  But  you  could  throw  her  halter  over 
a  stone,  to  be  sure." 

Larry  slipped  the  halter  over  a  stone, 
they  set  the  milk-jug  in  a  safe  place,  and 
the  three  children  ran  off  into  the  bog. 

79 


The  bog-land  was  brown  and  dark.  Tufts 
of  coarse  grass  grew  here  and  there,  and 
patches  of  yellow  gorse.  There  were  many 
puddles,  and  sometimes  there  were  deep 
holes,  where  the  turf  had  been  cut  out. 

Mr.  McQueen  was  a  thrifty  man,  and 
got  his  supply  of  turf  early  in  the  sea 
son.  He  would  cut  it  out  in  long  black 
blocks,  like  thick  mud,  and  leave  it  in  the 
sun  to  dry.  When  it  was  quite  dry  he 
would  carry  it  home  on  Colleen's  back,  pile 
it  in  a  high  turf-stack  near  the  kitchen 
door,  and  it  would  burn  in  the  fireplace  all 
winter. 

The  children  were  barefooted,  so  they 
played  in  the  puddles  as  much  as  ever  they 
liked. 

By  and  by  Eileen  said,  "  Let's  play  we 
are  Deirdre  and  the  sons  of  Usnach." 

"And  who  were  they,  indeed  ?"  said 
Dennis. 

"It  was  Grannie  told  us  about  them/' 
said  Eileen,  "and  sure  it's  the  sorrowfullest 
story  in  Ireland." 

80 


"Then  let's  not  be  playing  it,"  said 
Dennis. 

11  But  there  's  Kings  in  it,  and  lots  of 
fighting!" 

"Well,  then,  it  might  not  be  so  bad,  at 
all.  Tell  the  rest  of  it,"  Dennis  answered. 

"Well,  then,"  Eileen  began,  "there  once 
was  a  high  King  of  Emain,  and  his  name 
was  Conchubar.1  And  one  time  when  he 
was  hunting  out  in  the  fields,  he  heard  a 
small  little  cry,  crying.  And  he  followed  the 
sound  of  it,  and  what  should  he  find,  but  a 
little  baby  girl,  lying  alone  in  the  field!" 

"Well,  listen  to  that  now,"  said  Dennis. 

"He  did  so,"  Eileen  went  on;  "and  he 
loved  the  child  and  took  her  to  his  castle, 
and  had  her  brought  up  fine  and  careful, 
intending  for  to  marry  her  when  she  should 
be  grown  up.  And  he  hid  her  away,  with 
only  an  old  woman  to  take  care  of  her,  in 
a  beautiful  house  far  in  the  mountain,  for 
he  was  afraid  she  'd  be  stolen  away  from 
him. 

1  Pronounced  Connoi 

81 


"And  she  had  silver  dishes  and  golden 
cups,  and  everything  fine  and  elegant,  and 
she  the  most  beautiful  creature  you  ever 
laid  your  two  eyes  on." 

"  Sure,  I  don't  see  much  fighting  in  the 
tale,  at  all,"  said  Dennis. 

"  Whis.t  now,  and  I  '11  come  to  it,"  Eileen 
answered. 

"  One  day  when  Deirdre  had  grown  to 
be  a  fine  big  girl,  she  looks  out  of  the  win 
dow,  and  she  sees  Naisi '  going  along  by 
with  his  two  brothers,  the  three  of  them 
together,  they  having  been  hunting  in  the 
mountain.  And  the  minute  she  slaps  her 
eyes  on  Naisi,  '  There/  says  she,  'is  the 
grandest  man  in  the  width  of  the  world, 
and  I  '11  be  wife  to  no  man  but  him,'  says  she. 

"  So  she  calls  in  the  sons  of  Usnach, 
though  the  old  woman  is  scared  to  have 
her,  and  she  tells  Naisi  she 's  going  to 
marry  him. 

"And  Naisi  says,  says  he,  'I'll  never 
be  one  to  refuse  a  lady,  but  there'll  be 

1  Pronounced  Ndshti,. 
82 


murder  the  day  Conchubar  finds  it  out  1 ' 
says  he. 

"  So  they  went  away  that  same  night, 
and  the  old  woman  fair  distraught  with 
fear.  Soon  along  comes  Conchubar  to  see 
Deirdre,  for  to  marry  her.  And  he  had 
many  men  with  him.  When  he  finds  Deir 
dre  gone,  'It's  that  Naisi,'  says  he,  'that 
stole  her  away.'  And  he  cursed  him.  And 
all  his  men  and  himself  went  out  for  to 
chase  Naisi  and  his  two  brothers.  But  they 
never  caught  up  with  them  at  all  for  ten 
years,  and  Naisi  and  Deirdre  living  all  the 
time  as  happy  as  two  birds  in  the  spring 
time." 

"No  fighting  at  all  yet,"  said  Dennis, 
"and  ten  years  gone  by.  Musha,  indeed, 
't  is  not  much  of  a  tale  at  all." 

"  There  was  fighting  enough  when  the 
years  were  up,"  Eileen  said.  "The  men 
of  Conchubar  pursued  them  up  hill  and 
down  dale,  and  when  they  finally  caught 
them,  there  was  fighting  that  made  the 
ground  red  with  the  blood  spilled. 

83 


14  And  when  Naisi  and  his  brothers  were 
all  caught  together,  and  Conchubar  was 
after  killing  them,  sure,  did  n't  Deirdre  put 
an  end  to  herself  entirely,  and  the  four  of 
them  were  buried  together  in  one  grave." 

"But  however  will  we  play  it  at  all?" 
said  Larry. 

"Listen,  now,"  said  Eileen.  "I'll  be 
Deirdre,  of  course.  You  can  just  be  Naisi, 
Larry,  and  Dennis  can  be  Conchubar,  and 
he  after  us,  and  we  running  as  fast  as  ever 
we  can,  to  get  away  from  him.  You  must 
give  us  a  start,  Dennis." 


VIII 
"DIDDY" 


VIII 

*       "DIDDY" 

LARRY  and  Eileen  took  hold  of  hands,  and 
began  running  as  fast  as  they  could.  They 
jumped  from  one  tuft  of  grass  to  another. 
Dennis  came  splashing  through  the  pud 
dles  after  them.  He  had  almost  caught 
them,  when  all  of  a  sudden,  Larry  stopped 
and  listened. 

"What's  that  now?"  he  said.  Eileen 
and  Dennis  listened  too.  They  heard  a 
faint  squealing  sound 

They  looked  all  around  There  was 
nothing  in  sight  but  the  brown  bog,  and 
the  stones,  and  the  blue  hills  far  beyond. 
They  were  a  little  bit  scared. 

"  Do  you  suppose  it  might  be  a  Lepre 
chaun?"  Eileen  whispered. 

"  'T  is  a  tapping  noise  they  make ;  not  a 
crying  noise  at  all,"  Larry  answered. 

87 


14  Maybe  it's  a  Banshee,"  Dennis  said. 
"  They  do  be  crying  about  sometimes  be 
fore  somebody  is  going  to  die." 

"  'T  is  no  Banshee  whatever,"  Eileen 
declared.  "They  only  cry  at  night." 

They  heard  the  squealing  sound  again. 

"'Tis  right  over  there,"  cried  Eileen, 
pointing  to  a  black  hole  in  the  bog  where 
turf  had  been  cut  out.  "  Indeed,  and  it  might 
be  a  beautiful  baby  like  Deirdre  herself  I 
Let's  go  and  see." 

They  crept  up  to  the  bog-hole,  and  peeped 
over  the  edge.  The  hole  was  quite  deep  and 
down  in  the  bottom  of  it  was  a  little  pig  I 
Dennis  rolled  over  on  the  ground  beside 
the  bog-hole  and  screamed  with  laughter. 

"  Sure,  't  is  the  beautiful  child  entirely !  " 
he  said. 

"Tis  the  little  pig  the  Tinkers  had!" 
cried  Eileen. 

"  It  broke  the  rope  and  ran  away  with 
itself,"  shouted  Larry. 

"However  will  we  get  it  out?"  said 
Eileen.  "The  hole  is  too  deep  entirely  I  " 


"  The  poor  little  thing  is  nearly  destroyed 
with  hunger,"  Larry  said.  "  I  '11  go  down  in 
the  hole  and  lift  her  out." 

"  However  will  you  get  out  yourself, 
then,  Larry  darling?"  cried  Eileen. 

11  The  two  of  you  can  give  me  your 
hands,"  said  Larry,  "and  I  '11  be  up  in  no 
time." 

Then  Larry  jumped  down  into  the  hole. 
He  caught  the  little  pig  in  his  arms.  The 
little  pig  squealed  harder  than  ever  and 
tried  to  get  away,  but  Larry  held  it  up  as 
high  as  he  could. 

89 


Eileen  and  Dennis  reached  down  and 
each  got  hold  of  one  of  the  pig's  front  feet. 
"  Now  then  for  you  I  "  cried  Larry. 

He  gave  the  pig  a  great  shove.  He  shoved 
so  hard  that  Eileen  and  Dennis  both  fell 
over  backwards  into  a  puddle!  But  they 
held  tight  to  the  pig,  and  there  the  three  of 
them  were  together,  rolling  in  the  bog  with 
the  pig  on  top  of  them  ! 

"  Hold  her,  hold  her!"  shrieked  Larry. 
By  standing  on  tiptoe  his  nose  was  just 
above  the  edge  of  the  bog-hole,  so  he  could 
see  them. 

"  I  Ve  got  her,"  Eileen  cried.  "  Run  back 
for  the  bit  of  rope  the  Tinkers  left,  Dennis, 
and  tie  her,  hard  and  fasti " 

Dennis  ran  for  the  rope  while  Eileen  sat 
on  the  ground  and  held  the  little  pig  in  her 
arms.  The  little  pig  squealed  and  kicked 
and  tried  every  minute  to  get  away.  She 
kicked  even  after  her  hind  legs  were  tied 
together.  But  Eileen  held  on  ! 

"You'll  have  to  get  Larry  out  alone, 
Dennis,  while  I  never  let  go  of  this  pig," 

90 


cried  Eileen,  breathlessly.  "  She 's  that  wild, 
she  '11  be  running  away  with  herself  on  her 
two  front  legs,  alone." 

Dennis  reached  down,  and  took  both  of 
Larry's  hands  and  pulled  and  pulled  until 
he  got  him  out. 

Larry  was  covered  with  mud  from  the 
bog-hole,  and  Eileen  and  Dennis  were  wet 
and  muddy  from  falling  into  the  puddle. 

But  they  had  the  pig ! 

"Sure,  she  is  a  beautiful  little  pig,  and 
we  '11  call  her  Deirdre,  because  we  found  her 
in  the  bog  just  in  the  same  way  as  Con- 
chubar  himself,"  said  Larry. 

"  Indeed,  Deirdre  was  too  beautiful  alto- 


gether  to  be  naming  a  pig  after  her/'  Eileen 
said. 

"  Is  n't  she  a  beautiful  little  pig,  then  ?  " 
Larry  answered. 

"Well,  maybe  we  might  be  calling  her 
1  Diddy,'  for  short,  and  no  offense  to  her 
self  at  all,"  Eileen  agreed. 

The  poor  little  pig  was  so  tired  out  with 
struggling,  and  so  hungry,  that  she  was 

9* 


fairly  quiet  while  Dennis  carried  her  on  his 
shoulder  to  the  road.  Eileen  walked  be 
hind  Dennis  and  fed  her  with  green  leaves. 

She  was  so  quiet  that  Larry  said: 
"  We  '11  tie  the  rope  to  one  of  Diddy's  hind 
legs,  and  she'll  run  home  herself  in  front 
of  us." 

So  when  they  reached  the  road  he  and 
Dennis  tied  the  rope  securely  to  Diddy's 
left  hind  leg  and  set  her  down. 

They  found  Colleen  asleep,  standing  up. 

Larry  woke  her.  Then  he  said,  "  Eileen, 
come  now,  you  take  the  jug,  and  get  on 
Colleen's  back.  Dennis  can  lead  her,  and 
I  '11  drive  the  pig  myself." 

But  Diddy  was  feeling  better  after  her 
rest.  She  made  up  her  mind  she  didn't 
like  the  plan.  She  squealed  and  tried  to 
get  away.  Once  she  turned  quickly  and 
ran  between  Larry's  legs  and  tripped  him 
up.  But  she  was  a  tired  little  pig,  and 
so  it  was  not  long  before,  somehow,  they 
got  her  back  to  where  Mr.  McQueen  was 
working. 

93 


He  had  n't  heard  them  coming,  though 
what  with  the  pig  squealing,  and  the  chil 
dren  all  speaking  at  once,  they  made  noise 
enough.  But  Mr.  McQueen  had  his  head 
down  digging,  and  he  was  in  a  bog-hole 
besides,  so  when  they  came  up  right  be 
side  him,  with  the  pig,  he  almost  fell  over 
with  astonishment. 

He  stopped  his  work  and  leaned  on  his 
94 


clete,  while  they  told  him  all  about  the  pig, 
and  how  they  found  it,  and  got  it  out  of 
the  hole,  and  how  the  Tinkers  must  have 
lost  it.  And  when  they  were  all  done,  he 
only  said,  "  The  Saints  preserve  us  1  We  '11 
take  it  home  to  Herself  and  let  her  cosset 
it  up  a  bit!  " 

So  the  children  hurried  off  to  take  the 
pig  to  their  Mother  without  even  stopping 
to  eat  their  bit  of  lunch.  Mr.  McQueen 
came,  too. 

When  they  got  home,  they  found  Mrs. 
McQueen  leaning  on  the  farmyard  fence. 
When  she  saw  them  coming  with  the  pig, 
she  ran  out  to  meet  them. 

"Wherever  did  you  find  the  fine  little 
pig?"  she  cried.  Then  she  threw  up  her 
hands.  "  Look  at  the  mud  on  you !  "  she 
said. 

Then  the  Twins  and  Dennis  told  the 
story  all  over  again,  and  Mrs.  McQueen 
took  the  little  pig  in  her  apron.  "The  poor 
little  thing  1 "  she  said.  "  Its  heart  is  beat 
ing  that  hard,  you  'd  think  its  ribs  would 

95 


burst  themselves.  I  '11  get  it  some  milk 
right  away  this  minute  when  once  you  've 
looked  in  the  yard." 

Mr.  McQueen  and  Dennis  and  the  Twins 
went  to  the  fence.  There  in  the  yard  were 
the  two  geese  with  the  black  feathers  in 
their  wings !  "  Faith,  and  the  luck  is  all 
with  us  this  day,"  said  Mr.  McQueen. 
"  However  did  you  get  them  back  at  all?" 

"  'T  was  this  way,  if  you  '11  believe  me," 
said  Mrs.  McQueen.  She  scratched  the 
little  pig's  back  with  one  hand  as  she 
talked.  "  I  was  just  after  churning  my  but 
ter  when  what  should  I  see  looking  in  the 
door  but  that  thief  of  a  Tinker  with  the 
beard  like  a  rick  of  hay !  Thinks  I  to  my 
self,  sure,  my  butter  will  be  bewitched  and 
never  come  at  all  with  the  bad  luck  of  a 
stranger,  and  he  a  Tinker,  coming  in  the 
house  1 

11  But  he  comes  in  and  gives  one  plunge 
to  the  dasher  for  luck  and  to  break  the 
spell,  and  says  he,  very  civil,  '  Would  you 
be  wanting  to  buy  any  fine  geese  to-day?1 

96 


"  My  heart  was  going  thumpity-thump, 
but  I  says  to  him,  '  I  might  look  at  them, 
maybe,'  and  with  that  I  go  to  the  door, 
for  the  sake  of  getting  him  out  of  it,  and  if 
there  were  n't  our  own  two  geese,  with  the 
legs  of  them  tied  together !  " 

97 


"The  impudence  of  that!"  cried  Mr. 
McQueen.  "  Get  along  with  your  tale, 
woman !  Surely  you  never  paid  the  old 
thief  for  your  own  two  geese  !  " 

"  Trust  me!"  replied  Mrs.  McQueen. 
"  I  'm  coming  around  to  the  point  of  my 
tale  gradual,  like  an  old  goat  grazing  around 
its  tethering  stump  !  I  says  to  him,  *  They 
look  well  enough,  but  I  'm  wishful  to  see 
them  standing  up  on  their  own  two  legs. 
That  one  looks  as  if  it  might  be  a  bit  lame, 
and  the  cord  so  tight  on  it !  And  mean 
while,  will  you  be  having  a  bit  of  a  drink 
on  this  hot  day  ? ' 

"  Then  I  gave  him  a  sup  of  milk,  in  a 
mug,  and  with  that  he  thanks  me  kindly, 
loosens  the  cord,  and  sets  the  geese  up  on 
their  legs  for  me  to  see.  In  a  minute  of 
time  I  stood  between  him  and  the  geese, 
and  '  Shoo ! '  says  I  to  them,  and  to  him  I 
says,  *  Get  along  with  you  before  I  call  the 
man  working  behind  the  house  to  put  an 
end  to  your  thieving  entirely ! ' 

"  And  upon  that  he  went  in  great  haste, 
98 


taking  the  mug  along  with  him,  but  it  was 
cracked  anyway!  " 

"  Woman,  woman,  but  you  've  the  clever 
tongue  in  your  head,"  said  Mr.  McQueen 
with  admiration. 

"  'T  is  mighty  lucky  we  have,"  said  Mrs. 
McQueen,  "for  it's  little  else  women  have 
in  this  world  to  help  themselves  with !  M 

Then  she  put  the  little  pig  down  in  the 
empty  pig-pen  in  the  farmyard  and  went 
to  fetch  it  some  milk. 


IX 

THE  SECRET 


IX 

THE  SECRET 

MR.  McQuEEN  was  a  good  farmer,  but  at 
the  time  he  lived  in  Ireland,  farmers  could 
not  own  their  farms. 

The  land  was  all  owned  by  rich  land 
lords,  who  did  not  do  any  work  themselves. 
These  landlords  very  often  lived  away  in 
England  or  France,  and  did  not  know 
much  about  how  the  poor  people  lived 
at  home,  or  how  hard  they  had  to  work 
to  get  the  money  for  the  rent  of  their 
farms. 

Sometimes,  when  they  did  know,  they 
did  n't  care.  What  they  wanted  was  all  the 
money  they  could  get,  so  they  could  live 
in  fine  houses  and  wear  beautiful  clothes, 
and  go  where  they  pleased,  without  doing 
any  work. 

When  the  landlords  were  away,  they 
103 


had  agents  to  collect  the  rents  for  them. 
The  business  of  these  agents  was  to  get  all 
the  rent  money  they  could,  and  they  made 
life  very  hard  for  the  farmers. 

Sometimes  when  the  farmers  could  n't 
pay  all  the  rent,  the  agent  would  turn  them 
out  of  their  houses.  This  was  called 
"evicting"  them.  The  farm  that  Mr. 
McQueen  lived  on,  as  well  as  the  village 
and  all  the  country  roundabout,  was  owned 
by  the  Earl  of  Elsmore,  who  lived  most 
of  the  year  in  great  style  in  England.  The 
agent  who  collected  rents  was  Mr.  Conroy. 
Nobody  liked  Mr.  Conroy  very  much,  but 
everybody  was  afraid  of  him,  because  he 
could  do  so  much  to  injure  them. 

So  one  morning  when  Mr.  McQueen 
came  back  very  early  from  his  potato-field, 
he  was  not  glad  to  see  Mr.  Conroy's  horse 
standing  near  his  door,  and  Mr.  Conroy 
himself,  leaning  on  the  farmyard  fence, 
looking  at  the  fowls. 

41  How  are  you,  McQueen?"  said  Mr. 
Conroy,  when  Mr.  McQueen  came  up. 

I04L 


"Well  enough,  Mr.  Conroy,"  said  Mr. 
McQueen. 

"And  you're  doing  well  with  the  farm, 
too,  it  seems,"  said  Mr.  Conroy.  "Those 
are  good-looking  fowls  you  have,  and  the 
pig  is  fine  and  fat.  How  many  cows  have 
you,  now?" 

"Two,  and  a  heifer,"  said  Mr.  McQueen. 

"  You  drained  that  field  over  by  the  bog 
this  year,  did  n't  you,  and  have  it  planted 
to  turnips?"  went  on  Mr.  Conroy.  "I'm 
glad  to  see  you  so  prosperous,  McQueen. 
Of  course,  now,  the  farm  is  worth  more 
than  it  was  when  you  first  took  it,  and  so 
you  '11  not  be  surprised  that  I  'm  raising 
the  rent  on  you." 

"  If  the  farm  is  worth  more,  't  is  my 
work  that  has  made  it  so,"  said  Mr.  Mc 
Queen,  "  and  I  should  n't  be  punished  for 
that.  The  house  is  none  too  good  at  all, 
and  the  place  is  not  worth  more.  Last  year 
was  the  drought  and  all  manner  of  bad 
luck,  and  next  year  may  be  no  better. 
Truly,  Mr.  Conroy,  if  you  press  me,  I 

105 


don't  know  how   I   can  scrape  more  to 
gether  than  I  'm  paying  now." 

"Well,  then,"  said  Mr.  Conroy.  "You 
must  just  find  a  way,  for  this  is  one  of  the 
best  farms  about  here,  and  you  should  pay 
as  much  as  any  one." 

"You  can't  get  money  by  shaking  a 
man  with  empty  pockets,"  said  Mr.  Mc 
Queen. 

But  Mr.  Conroy  only  laughed  and  said: 

"You  '11  have  five  pounds  in  yours  when 
next  rent  day  comes  around,  or  'twill  be 
the  worse  for  you.  You  would  n't  like  to 
be  evicted,  I  'm  sure." 

Then  he  mounted  his  horse  and  rode 
away. 

Mr.  McQueen  went  into  the  house  with  a 
heavy  heart,  and  told  his  wife  the  bad  news. 

"  Faith,"  said  Mrs.  McQueen,  "  I  'd  not 
be  in  that  man's  shoes  for  all  you  could 
offer.  It's  grinding  down  the  faces  of  the 
poor  he  is,  and  that  at  the  telling  of  some 
one  else !  Not  even  his  badness  is  his 
own  I  He  does  as  he  's  bid." 

1 06 


"  He  gets  fat  on  it,"  said  Mr.  McQueen. 

"  Faith,  we  '11  get  along  somehow,"  said 
Mrs.  McQueen.  "  We  always  have,  though 
'tis  true  it's  been  scant  fare  we've  had 
now  and  again." 

Mr.  McQueen  did  n't  answer.  He  went 
back  to  his  work  in  the  fields.  Mrs.  Mc- 

107 


Queen  got  the  Twins  started  off  to  school, 
with  their  lunch  in  a  little  tin  bucket,  and 
began  her  washing,  but  she  did  not  sing 
at  her  work  that  day  as  she  sometimes 
did. 

Larry  and  Eileen  knew  that  something 
was  wrong,  though  their  Father  and  Mother 
had  not  said  anything  to  them  about  it. 

They  had  seen  Mr.  Conroy  talking  with 
their  Father  in  the  yard.  "  And  it's  never 
a  sign  of  anything  good  to  see  Mr.  Con 
roy,"  Eileen  said. 

Larry  was  thinking  the  same  thing,  for 
he  said :  — 

"When  I 'm  a  man,  I'm  going  to  be 
rich,  and  then  I  '11  give  you  and  Mother 
and  Dada  a  fine  house,  and  fine  clothes, 
and  things  in  plenty." 

"However  will  you  get  the  money?" 
asked  Eileen. 

"Oh!  Giants  or  something,"  Larry  an 
swered,  "  or  maybe  being  an  Alderman." 

"Blathers!"  said  Eileen.  "I've  a  bet 
ter  plan  in  my  head.  You  know  Dada 

109 


and  Mother  said  we  could  have  Diddy  for 
our  very  own,  because  we  found  her  our 
selves." 

"I  do,"  said  Larry. 

"Well,  then,"  said  Eileen,  "I  know  it's 
about  the  rent  they  are  bothered,  for  it  al 
ways  is  the  rent  that  bothers  them.  Now, 
when  the  Fair-time  comes  we  '11  coax  Dada 
to  let  us  take  Diddy  to  the  Fair.  She  '11  be 
nice  and  fat  by  that  time,  and  we'll  sell 
her,  and  give  the  money  to  Dada  for  the 
rent!" 

"  Sure,  it  will  be  hard  parting  with  Diddy, 
that  's  been  like  one  of  our  own  family 
since  the  day  we  found  her  crying  in  the 
bog,"  said  Larry. 

"Indeed,  and  it  will,"  said  Eileen,  "but 
we  think  more  of  our  parents  than  of  a 
pig,  surely." 

"But  however  will  we  get  her  to  the 
Fair  to  sell  her?"  said  Larry. 

"We  '11  get  Dada  to  take  her  for  us,  but 
we  '11  never  tell  him  we  mean  the  money 
to  go  for  the  rent  until  we  put  it  in  his 

no 


hands/'  Eileen  answered,  "and  we  won't 
tell  any  one  else  at  all.  It 's  a  Secret." 

"I'd  like  to  be  telling  Dennis,  maybe," 
said  Larry." 

"We  can  tell  Dennis  and  Grannie  Ma- 
lone,  but  no  one  else  at  all,"  Eileen  agreed. 


X 

SCHOOL 


X 

SCHOOL 

BY  this  time  they  had  reached  the  school- 
house.  The  Schoolmaster  was  standing  in 
the  door  calling  the  children  to  come  in. 

He  was  a  tall  man  dressed  in  a  worn  suit 
of  black.  He  wore  glasses  on  his  nose,  and 
carried  a  stick  in  his  hand. 

The  schoolhouse  had  only  one  room, 
with  four  small  windows,  and  Larry  hung 
his  cap  and  Eileen  her  shawl,  on  nails 
driven  into  the  wall. 

The  schoolroom  had  benches  for  the 
children  to  sit  on,  with  long  desks  in  front 
of  them.  On  the  wall  hung  a  printed  copy  of 
the  Ten  Commandments.  At  one  side  there 
was  a  fireplace,  but,  as  it  was  summer, 
there  was  no  fire  in  it. 

The  Master  rapped  on  his  desk,  which 
was  in  the  front  of  the  room,  and  the  chil- 

"5 


dren  all  hurried  to  their  seats.  Larry  sat  on 
one  side  of  the  room,  with  the  boys.  Eileen 
sat  on  the  other,  with  the  girls. 

The  Master  called  the  roll.  There  were 
fifteen  boys  and  thirteen  girls.  When  the 
roll  was  called  and  the  number  marked 
down  on  a  slate  in  front  of  the  school,  the 
Master  said,  "First  class  in  reading." 

All  the  little  boys  and  girls  of  the  size 
of  Larry  and  Eileen  came  forward  and 
stood  in  a  row.  There  were  just  three  of 
them :  Larry  and  Eileen  and  Dennis. 

"  Larry,  you  may  begin,"  said  the  Master. 

Larry  read  the  first  lines  of  the  lesson. 
They  were,  "To  do  ill  is  a  sin. 

"Can  you  run  far?" 

Larry  wondered  who  it  was  that  had 
done  ill,  and  if  he  were  running  away  be 
cause  of  it,  and  who  stopped  him  to  ask, 
"Can  you  run  far?"  He  was  thinking 
about  it  when  Eileen  read  the  next  two 
sentences. 

They  were,  "Is   he  friend  or  foe? 

"  Did  you  hurt  your  toe?" 
116 


This  did  not  seem  to  Larry  to  clear  the 
mystery. 

"  Next  I"  called  the  Master. 

Dennis  stood  next.  He  read,  "He  was 
born  in  a*  house  on  the  hill. 

41  Is  rice  a  kind  of  corn  ? 

"Get  me  a  cork  for  the  ink  jar." 

Just  at  this  point  the  Master  went  to  the 
117 


open  door  to  drive  away  some  chickens 
that  wanted  to  come  in,  and  as  Dennis  had 
not  been  told  to  stop  he  went  right  on. 
Dennis  was  eight,  and  he  could  read  quite 
fast  if  he  kept  his  finger  on  the  place.  This 
is  what  he  read :  - 

"The  morn  is  the  first  part  of  the  day. 

"  This  is  my  son,  I  hope  you  will  like 
him. 

"  Sin  not,  for  God  hates  sin. 

"Can  a  worm  walk? 

11  No,  it  has  no  feet,  but  it  can  creep. 

"Did  you  meet  Fred  in  the  street? 

"  Weep  no  more." 

By  this  time  the  chickens  were  frightened 
away  and  Dennis  was  nearly  out  of  breath. 

The  Master  came  back.  Then  Eileen 
had  a  turn.  They  could  almost  say  the  les 
sons  by  heart,  they  knew  them  so  well. 

After  the  reading-lesson  they  went  back 
to  their  benches,  and  studied  in  loud  whis 
pers,  but  Larry  was  thinking  of  something 
else.  He  drew  a  pig  with  a  curly  tail  on 
his  slate — like  this- 

118 


He  held  it  up  for  Dennis  to  see.  He 
wanted  to  tell  him  about  Diddy  and  the 
Fair,  but  the  Master  saw  what  he  had  done. 
"Come  here,  Larry  McQueen,  and  bring 
your  slate,"  he  said.  "Sure,  I  '11  teach  you 
better  manners.  Get  up  on  this  stool  now, 
and  show  yourself."  He  put  a  large  paper 
dunce-cap  on  Larry's  head,  and  made  him 
sit  up  on  a  stool  before  the  whole  school! 

The  other  children  laughed,  all  but  Eileen, 
119 


She  hid  her  face  on  her  desk,  and  two  lit 
tle  tears  squeezed  out  between  her  fingers. 
But  Larry  did  n't  cry.  He  pretended  he 
did  n't  care  at  all.  He  sat  there  for  what 
seemed  a  very  long  time,  while  other  chil 
dren  recited  other  lessons  in  reading,  and 
grammar,  and  arithmetic.  The  Master  gave 
him  this  poem  to  learn  by  heart :  - 

"  I  thank  the  Goodness  and  the  Grace 
That  on  my  birth  have  smiled, 
And  made  me  in  these  Christian  days, 
A  happy  English  child." 

Larry  wondered  why  he  was  called  an 
English  child,  when  he  knew  he  was  Irish. 
And  he  was  n't  so  sure  either  about  the 
"  Christian  days  " ;  but  he  learned  it  and 
said  it  to  the  teacher  before  he  got  down 
off  the  stool.  It  seemed  to  him  that  it  was 
about  three  days  before  noontime  came.  At 
last  they  were  dismissed,  and  the  Twins 
went  out  with  the  other  children  into  the 
schoolyard  to  eat  their  luncheon.  Dennis 
ate  his  with  them,  and  Larry  told  him  the 
Secret. 

130 


After  lunch  they  went  back  into  the  dark, 
smoky  little  schoolroom  for  more  lessons, 
and  when  three  o'clock  came,  how  glad 
they  were  to  go  dancing  out  into  the  sun 
shine  again,  and  walk  home  along  the  fa 
miliar  road,  with  the  air  sweet  about  them, 
and  the  little  birds  singing  in  the  fklds. 


XI 
THE  FAIR 


XI 

THE  FAIR 

FOR  many  weeks  Eileen  and  Larry  kept  the 
Secret  They  told  no  one  but  Dennis  and 
Grannie  Malone,  and  they  both  promised 
they  would  never,  never  tell. 

Mr.  McQueen  worked  hard  —  early  and 
late  —  over  his  turnips  and  cabbages  and 
potatoes,  and  Larry  and  Eileen  helped  by 
feeding  the  pig  and  chickens,  and  driving 
the  cows  along  the  roadsides,  where  they 
could  get  fresh  sweet  grass  to  eat 

One  evening  Mr.  McQueen  said  to  his 
wife.  "  Rent-day  comes  soon,  and  next 
week  will  be  the  Fair." 

Larry  and  Eileen  heard  him  say  it  They 
looked  at  each  other  and  then  Eileen  went 
to  her  Father  and  said,  "Dada,  will  you 
take  Larry  and  me  to  the  Fair  with  you  ? 
We  want  to  sell  our  pig." 

"5 


"  You  sell  your  pig! "  cried  Mr.  McQueen. 
"You  mean  you  want  to  sell  it  your 
selves?" 

"You  can  help  us,"  Eileen  answered; 
"  but  it 's  our  pig  and  we  want  to  sell  it,  don't 
we,  Larry?" 

Larry  nodded  his  head  up  and  down  very 
hard  with  his  mouth  tight  shut.  He  was  so 
afraid  the  Secret  would  jump  out  of  it  I 

"Well,  1  never  heard  the  likes  of  that!" 
said  McQueen.  He  slapped  his  knee  and 
laughed. 

"We've  got  it  all  planned,"  said  Eileen. 
She  was  almost  ready  to  cry  because  her 
Father  laughed  at  her.  "  We  've  fed  the  pig 
and  fed  her,  until  she 's  so  fat  she  can  hardly 
walk,  and  we  are  going  to  wash  her  clean, 
and  I  have  a  ribbon  to  tie  on  her  ear.  Diddy 
will  look  so  fine  and  stylish,  I  'm  sure  some 
one  will  want  to  buy  her!  " 

Mrs.  McQueen  was  just  setting  away  a 
pan  of  milk.  She  stopped  with  the  pan  in 
her  hand. 

"Leave  them  go,"  she  said. 


Mr.  McQueen  smoked  awhile  in  silence. 
At  last  he  said :  - 

"It's  your  own  pig,  and  I  suppose  you 
can  go,  but  you  '11  have  a  long  day  of  it." 

"The  longer  the  better,"  said  the  Twins. 

All  that  week  they  carried  acorns,  and 
127 


turnip-tops,  and  everything  they  could  find 
that  was  good  for  pigs  to  eat,  and  fed  them 
to  Diddy,  and  she  got  fatter  than  ever. 

The  day  before  the  Fair,  they  took  the 
scrubbing-pail  and  the  broom,  and  some 
water,  and  scrubbed  her  until  she  was  all 
pink  and  clean.  Then  they  put  her  in  a 
clean  place  for  the  night,  and  went  to  bed 
early  so  they  would  be  ready  to  get  up  in 
the  morning. 

When  the  first  cock  crowed,  before  day 
light  the  next  morning,  Eileen's  eyes 
popped  wide  open  in  the  dark.  The  cock 
crowed  again.  Cock-a-doodle-doo! 

"Wake  up,  Larry  darling,"  cried  Eileen 
from  her  bed.  "The  morn  is  upon  us,  and 
we  are  not  ready  for  the  Fair." 

Larry  bounded  out  of  bed,  and  such  a 
scurrying  around  as  there  was  to  get  ready  I 
Mrs.  McQueen  was  already  blowing  the 
fire  on  the  hearth  in  the  kitchen  into  a 
blaze,  and  the  kettle  was  on  to  boil.  The 
Twins  wet  their  hair  and  their  Mother 
parted  it  and  then  they  combed  it  down 

128 


tight  on  the  sides  of  their  heads.  But  no 
matter  how  much  they  wet  their  hair,  the 
wind  always  blew  it  about  their  ears  again 
in  a  very  little  while.  They  put  on  their 
best  clothes,  and  then  they  were  ready  for 
breakfast. 

Mr.  McQueen  was  up  long  before  the 
Twins.  He  had  harnessed  Colleen  and  had 
loaded  the  pig  into  the  cart  somehow,  and, 
tied  her  securely.  This  must  have  been 
hard  work,  for  Diddy  had  made  up  her 
mind  she  wasn't  going  to  the  Fair. 

Mr.  McQueen  had  found  room,  too,  for 
some  crocks  of  butter,  and  several  dozen 
eggs  carefully  packed  in  straw. 

When  breakfast  was  over,  Mrs.  McQueen 
brought  a  stick  with  notches  cut  in  it  and 
gave  it  to  Mr.  McQueen. 

She  explained  what  each  notch  meant. 
"There's  one  notch,  and  a  big  one,  for  sell 
ing  the  pig,"  she  said,  "and  mind  you  see 
that  the  Twins  get  a  good  price  for  the 
creature.  And  here 's  another  for  selling  the 
butter  and  eggs.  And  this  is  a  pound  of  tea 

129 


for  Grannie  Malone.  She 's  been  out  of  tea 
this  week  past,  and  she  with  no  one  to 
send.  And  this  notch  is  for  Mrs.  Maguire's 
side  of  bacon  that  you're  to  be  after  bring 
ing  her  with  her  egg  money,  which  is 
wrapped  in  a  piece  of  paper  in  your  inside 
pocket,  and  by  the  same  token  don't  you 
be  losing  it. 

130 


11  And  for  myself,  there 's  so  many  things 
I  'm  needing,  that  I  Ve  put  all  these  small 
notches  close  together.  There's  yarn  for 
stockings  for  the  Twins,  and  some  thread 
for  myself,  to  make  crochet,  that  might  turn 
me  a  penny  in  my  odd  moments,  and  a  bit 
of  flour,  and  some  yellow  meal.  Now  re 
member  that  you  forget  nothing  of  it  all! " 

Mr.  McQueen  shook  his  head  sadly. 
" Faith,  there's  little  pleasure  in  going  to 
the  Fair  with  so  many  things  on  my  mind/' 
he  said. 

The  sun  was  just  peeping  over  the  dis 
tant  hills,  when  Colleen  started  up  the  road, 
pulling  the  cart  with  Diddy  in  it,  squealing 
"like  a  dozen  of  herself"  Mrs.  McQueen 
said.  Mr.  McQueen  led  the  donkey,  and 
Larry  and  Eileen  followed  on  foot.  They 
had  on  shoes  and  stockings,  and  Eileen 
had  on  a  clean  apron  and  a  bright  little 
shawl,  so  they  looked  quite  gay. 

They  walked  miles  and  miles,  beside 
bogs,  and  over  hills,  along  country  roads 
bordered  by  hedgerows  or  by  stone  walls. 


At  last  they  saw  the  towers  of  the  Castle 
which  belonged  to  the  Earl  of  Elsmore. 
It  was  on  top  of  a  high  hill. 

The  towers  stood  up  strong  and  proud 
against  the  sky.  Smoke  was  coming  out  of 
the  chimneys. 

"Do  you  suppose  the  Earl  himself  is  at 
home?"  Eileen  asked  her  Father. 

"Tis  not  unlikely,"  Mr.  McQueen  an 
swered.  "  He  comes  home  sometimes  with 
parties  of  gentlemen  and  ladies  for  a  bit  of 
shooting  or  fishing." 

11  Maybe  he'll  come  to  the  Fair,"  Eileen 
said  to  Larry. 

"  Sure,  he  'd  never  miss  anything  so  grand 
as  the  Fair  and  he  being  in  this  part  of  the 
world,"  said  Larry. 

Some  distance  from  the  Castle  they  could 
see  a  church  spire,  and  the  roofs  of  the 
town,  and  nearer  they  saw  a  little  village 
of  stalls  standing  in  the  green  field,  like 
mushrooms  that  had  sprung  up  over 
night. 

11  The  Fair  I  The  Fair ! "  cried  the  Twins. 
13* 


XII 

HOW  THEY  SOLD  THE  PIG 


XII 

HOW  THEY  SOLD  THE  PIG 

ALTHOUGH  they  had  come  so  far,  they  were 
among  the  earliest  at  the  Fair.  People 
were  hurrying  to  and  fro,  carrying  all 
sorts  of  goods  and  arranging  them  for 
sale  on  counters  in  little  stalls,  around 
an  open  square  in  the  center  of  the 
grounds. 

Cattle  were  being  driven  to  their  pens, 
horses  were  being  brushed  and  curried, 
sheep  were  bleating,  cows  Were  lowing,  and 
even  the  hens  and  ducks  added  their  noise 
to  the  concert.  Diddy  herself  squealed  with 
all  her  might. 

Larry  and  Eileen  had  never  seen  so 
many  people  together  before  in  all  their 
lives. 

They  had  to  think  very  hard  about  the 


Secret  in  order  not  to  forget  everything 
but  the  beautiful  things  they  saw  in  the 
different  stalls. 

There  were  vegetables  and  meats,  and 
butter  and  eggs.  There  were  hats  and 
caps.  There  were  crochet-work,  and  bed- 
quilts,  and  shawls  with  bright  borders, 
spread  out  for  people  to  see. 

There  were  hawkers  going  about  with 
trays  of  things  to  eat,  pies  and  sweets,  tof 
fee  and  sugar-sticks.  This  made  the  Twins 
remember  that  they  were  dreadfully  hun 
gry  after  their  long  walk,  but  they  did  n't 
have  anything  to  eat  until  quite  a  while 
after  that,  because  they  had  so  much  else 
to  do.  They  followed  their  Father  to  the 
corner  where  the  pigs  were.  A  man  came 
to  tell  them  where  to  put  Diddy. 

"  You  can  talk  with  these  two  farmers," 
said  Mr.  McQueen.  He  brought  the  Twins 
forward.  "  It's  their  pig." 

Then  Larry  and  Eileen  told  the  man 
about  finding  Diddy  in  the  bog,  and  that 
their  Father  had  said  they  could  have  her 


for  their  own,  and  so  they  had  come  to 
the  Fair  to  sell  her. 

"  And  whatever  will  you  do  with  all  the 
money?"  asked  the  man. 

The  Twins  almost  told!  The  Secret  was 
right  on  the  tip  end  of  their  tongues,  but 
they  clapped  their  hands  over  their  mouths, 
quickly,  so  it  did  n't  get  out. 

The  man  laughed.  "  Any  way,  it's  a  fine 
pig,  and  you  've  a  right  to  get  a  good  price 
for  her,"  he  said.  And  he  gave  them  the 
very  best  pen  of  all  for  Diddy. 

When  she  was  safely  in  the  pen,  Eileen 
and  Larry  tied  the  red  ribbon,  which  Eileen 
had  brought  in  her  pocket,  to  Biddy's  ear 
and  another  to  her  tail.  Diddy  looked  very 


When  the  Twins  had  had  a  bite  to  eat, 
they  stood  up  before  Biddy's  pen,  where 
the  man  told  them  to,  and  Biddy  stood  up 
on  her  hind  legs  with  her  front  feet  on  the 
rail,  and  squealed.  Larry  and  Eileen  fed 
her  with  turnip-tops. 

There  were  a  great  many  people  in  the 


r 


Fairgrounds  by  that  time.  They  were 
laughing  and  talking,  and  looking  at  the 
things  in  the  different  booths.  Every  single 
one  of  them  stopped  to  look  at  Diddy  and 
the  Twins,  because  the  Twins  were  the  very 
youngest  farmers  in  the  whole  Fair. 

Everybody  was  interested,  but  nobody 
offered  to  buy,  and  the  Twins  were  getting 
discouraged  when  along  came  some  farmers 

138 


with  ribbons  in  their  hands.  They  were  the 
Judges  1 

The  Twins  almost  held  their  breath  while 
the  Judges  looked  Diddy  over.  Then  the 
head  man  said,  " That's  a  very  fine  pig, 
and  young.  She  is  a  thoroughbred.  Wher 
ever  did  you  get  her,  Mr.  McQueen?" 

Mr.  McQueen  just  said,  "Ask  them!" 
pointing  to  the  Twins. 

The  Twins  were  very  much  scared  to  be 
talking  to  the  Judges,  but  they  told  about 
the  Tinkers  and  how  they  found  Diddy  in 
the  bog,  and  the  Judges  nodded  their  heads 
and  looked  very  wise,  and  finally  the  chief 
one  said,  "  Faith,  there's  not  her  equal  in 
the  whole  Fair !  She  gets  the  blue  ribbon, 
or  I  'm  no  Judge." 

All  the  other  men  said  the  same.  Then 
they  gave  the  blue  ribbori  to  the  Twins,  and 
Eileen  tied  it  on  Biddy's  other  ear !  Diddy 
did  not  seem  to  like  being  dressed  up.  She 
wiggled  her  ears  and  squealed. 

Just  then  there  was  the  gay  sound  of  a 
horn.  Tara,  tara,  tara  I  it  sang,  and  right 


into  the  middle  of  the  Fairground  drove 
a  great  tally-ho  coach,  with  pretty  young 
ladies  and  fine  young  gentlemen  riding  on 
top  of  it. 

Everybody  turned  away  from  Diddy  and 
the  Twins  to  see  this  grand  sight ! 

The  footman  jumped  down  and  helped 
down  the  ladies,  while  the  driver,  in  livery, 
stood  beside  the  horses'  heads  with  his  hand 
on  their  bridles. 

Then  all  the  young  gentlemen  and  ladies 
went  about  the  Fair  to  see  the  sights. 

"Tis  a  grand  party  from  the  Castle," 
said  Mr.  McQueen  to  the  Twins.  "And 
sure,  that 's  the  Earl's  daughter,  the  Lady 
Kathleen  herself,  with  the  pink  roses  on  her 
hat!  I  haven't  seen  a  sight  of  her  since 
she  was  a  slip  of  a  girl,  the  size  of  your 
selves." 

Lady  Kathleen  and  her  party  came  by 
just  at  that  moment,  and  when  she  saw 
Diddy  with  her  ribbons  and  the  Twins  be 
side  her,  the  Lady  Kathleen  stopped. 

The  Twins  could  hardly  take  their  eyes 
140 


off  her  sweet  face  and  her  pretty  dress,  and 
the  flowered  hat,  but  she  asked  them  all 
sorts  of  questions,  and  finally  they  found 
themselves  telling  her  the  story  of  how  they 
found  the  pig. 

141 


"And  what  is  your  pig's  name?"  said 
Lady  Kathleen. 

"Sure,  ma'am,  it's  Deirdre,  but  we  call 
her  Diddy  for  short,"  Eileen  answered. 

All  the  young  gentlemen  and  ladies 
laughed.  The  Twins  didn't  like  to  be 
laughed  at — they  were  almost  ready  to  cry. 

"And  why  did  you  call  her  Deirdre?" 
asked  Lady  Kathleen. 

"  It  was  because  of  finding  her  in  the  bog 
all  alone  with  herself,  the  same  as  Deirdre 
when  she  was  a  baby  and  found  by  the 
high  King  of  Emain,"  Eileen  explained. 

"A  very  good  reason,  and  it's  the  fin 
est  story  in  Ireland,"  said  Lady  Kathleen. 
"  I  'm  glad  you  know  it  so  well,  and  she  is 
such  a  fine  pig  that  I  'm  going  to  buy  her 
from  you  myself." 

All  the  young  ladies  seemed  to  think  this 
very  funny,  indeed.  But  Lady  Kathleen 
didn't  laugh.  She  called  one  of  the  footmen. 
He  came  running.  "Do  you  see  that  this 
pig  is  sent  to  the  Castle  when  the  Fair  is 
over,"  she  said. 

142 


"  I  will,  your  Ladyship/*  said  the  footman. 

Then  Lady  Kathleen  took  out  her  purse. 
41  What  is  the  price  of  your  pig?  "  she  said 
to  the  Twins. 

They  did  n't  know  what  to  say,  but  the 
Judge,  who  was  standing  near,  said,  "She 
is  a  high-bred  pig,  your  Ladyship,  and 
worth  all  of  three  pounds." 

"  Three  pounds  it  is,  then,"  said  the  Lady 
Kathleen.  She  opened  her  purse  and  took 
out  three  golden  sovereigns. 

She  gave  them  to  the  Twins  and  then 
almost  before  they  found  breath  to  say, 
" Thank  you,  ma'am,"  she  and  her  gay 
company  had  gone  on  to  another  part  of  the 
Fair.  The  Judge  made  a  mark  on  Biddy's 
back  to  show  that  she  had  been  sold. 

The  Twins  gave  the  three  golden  sover 
eigns  to  their  Father  to  carry  for  them,  and 
he  put  them  in  the  most  inside  pocket  he  had, 
for  safe  keeping!  Then  while  he  stayed  to 
sell  his  butter  and  eggs,  and  to  do  his  buy 
ing,  the  Twins  started  out  to  see  the  Fair 
by  themselves. 

H3 


XIII 

WHAT  THEY  SAW 


\  1 


XIII 

WHAT  THEY  SAW 

THE  first  person  they  stopped  to  watch 
was  a  Juggler  doing  tricks.  It  was  quite 
wonderful  to  see  him  keep  three  balls  in 
the  air  all  at  the  same  time,  or  balance  a 
pole  on  the  end  of  his  nose.  But  when  he 
took  out  a  frying-pan  from  behind  his  stall, 
and  said  to  the  Twins,  who  were  standing 
right  in  front  of  him,  "Now,  I'll  be  after 
making  you  a  bit  of  an  omelet  without  any 
cooking,"  their  eyes  were  fairly  popping 
out  of  their  heads  with  surprise. 

The  Juggler  broke  an  egg  into  the  frying- 
pan.  Then  he  clapped  on  the  cover,  waved 
the  pan  in  the  air,  and  lifted  the  cover  again. 
Instead  of  an  omelet  there  in  the  frying- 
pan  was  a  little  black  chicken  crying  "  Peep, 
peep,"  as  if  it  wanted  its  mother! 

The  Juggler  looked  very  much  surprised 
H7 


himself,  and  the  Twins  were  simply  aston 
ished. 

"  Will  you  see  that  nowl  "  Larry  whis 
pered  to  Eileen.  "  Sure,  if  only  Old  Speckle 
could  be  learning  that  trick,  'twould  save 
her  a  deal  of  sitting." 

" Indeed,  then,  'tis  magic,"  Eileen  an 
swered  back,  "and  there's  no  luck  in  that 
same  1  Do  you  come  away  now,  Larry 
McQueen,  or  he  might  be  casting  his  spells 
on  yourself  and  turning  you  into  something 
else  entirely,  a  goat  maybe,  or  a  Lepre 
chaun  ! " 

This  seemed  quite  likely  to  Larry,  too,  so 
they  slipped  hurriedly  out  under  the  elbows 
of  the  crowd  just  as  the  Juggler  was  in  the 
very  act  of  finding  a  white  rabbit  in  the 
crown  of  his  hat.  They  never  stopped  run 
ning  until  they  found  themselves  in  the 
middle  of  a  group  of  people  in  a  distant  part 
of  the  Fairgrounds. 

This  crowd  had  gathered  around  a  rough- 
looking  man  with  a  bundle  of  papers  under 
his  arm.  He  was  waving  a  leaflet  in  the  air 

148 


and  shouting,  "  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  - 
Whist  now  till  I  sing  you  a  song  of  Old 
Ireland.  Tis  the  Ballad  of  the  Census 
Taker ! "  Then  he  began  to  sing  in  a  voice 
as  loud  as  a  clap  of  thunder.  This  was  the 
first  verse  of  the  song :  — 

"  OA,  they  're  taking  of  the  Census 
In  the  country  and  the  town. 
Have  your  children  got  the  measles  ? 
Are  your  chimneys  tumbling  down?" 

Every  one  seemed  to  think  this  a  very 
funny  song  and  at  the  end  of  the  second  verse 
they  all  joined  in  the  chorus.  The  Ballad 
Singer  sang  louder  than  all  the  rest  of  the 
people  put  together. 

"  Musha,  the  roars  of  him  are  like  the 
roars  of  a  giant,"  Eileen  said  to  Larry.  "  In 
deed,  I'm  fearing  he'll  burst  himself  with 
the  noise  that's  in  him." 

The  moment  the  song  ended,  the  Ballad 
Singer  passed  the  hat,  and  the  crowd  be 
gan  to  melt  away.  "There  you  go,  now," 
cried  the  Singer,  "lepping  away  on  your 
two  hind  legs  like  scared  rabbits!  Come 

149 


along  back  now,  and  buy  the  Ballad  of 
'  The  Peeler  and  the  Goat/  Sure,  't  is  a  fine 
song  entirely  and  one  you  '11  all  be  wanting 
to  sing  yourselves  when  once  you  Ve  heard 
it"  He  seized  a  young  man  by  the  arm. 
"Walk  up  and  buy  a  ballad  now,"  he  said  to 
him.  "Troth,  you've  the  look  of  a  fine 
singer  yourself,  and  dear  knows  what  minute 
you  may  be  needing  one,  and  none  handy. 
Come  now,  buy  before  'tis  too  late." 

The  young  man  turned  very  red.  "  I 
don't  think  I  '11  be  wanting  any  ballads,"  he 
said,  and  tried  to  pull  away, 

"You  don't  think!"  shouted  the  Ballad 
Singer.  "  Of  course,  you  don't  think,  you've 
nothing  whatever  to  do  it  with! " 

The  crowd  laughed.  The  poor  young 
man  bought  a  ballad. 

"There  now,"  cried  the  Singer,  "you're 
the  broth  of  a  boy  after  all !  Who  '11  be  after 
buying  the  next  one  off  of  me  ?  " 

His  eyes  lighted  on  the  Twins.  They 
shook  in  their  shoes.  "He'll  be  clapping 
one  of  them  on  us  next,"  Larry  said  to 

150 


Eileen.  "  We  'd  best  be  going  along  "  ;  and 
they  crept  out  of  the  crowd  just  as  he  be 
gan  to  roar  out  a  new  song. 

An  old  woman,  with  a  white  cap  and  a 
shawl  over  her  head  and  a  basket  on  her 


arm,  smiled  at  them  as  they  slipped  by. 
She  jerked  her  thumb  over  her  shoulder  at 
the  Ballad  Singer.  "  Melodious  is  the  closed 
mouth,"  she  said. 

11  Indeed,  ma'am,  I  've  often  heard  my 
Mother  say  so,"  Eileen  answered  politely. 
She  curtsied  to  the  old  woman. 

The  old  woman  looked  pleased.  "Will 
you  come  along  with  me  out  of  the  sound 
of  this  —  the  both  of  you  ? ' '  she  said.  ' '  And 
I  '11  take  you  to  hear  things  that  will  keep 
the  memory  of  Ireland  green  while  there's 
an  Irishman  left  in  the  world." 

She  led  them  to  a  raised  platform  some 
distance  away.  Over  the  platform  there 
floated  a  white  flag  with  a  green  harp  on  it. 
The  old  woman  pointed  to  it.  "Do  you  re 
member  the  old  harp  of  Tara?"  she  said 
to  the  Twins.  "'Tis  nowhere  else  at  all 
now  but  on  the  flag,  but  time  was,  long, 
long  years  ago,  when  the  harp  itself  was 
played  on  Tara's  hill.  And  in  those  days 
there  were  poets  to  praise  Ireland,  and 
singers  to  sing  her  songs.  And  here  they 

'5* 


•fc 
miffi!  : 


will  be  telling  of  those  days,  and  singing 
those  songs.  Come  and  listen.  'T  is  a  Feis1 
they  're  having,  and  prizes  given  for  the  best 
tale  told,  or  the  best  song  sung." 

The  old  woman  and  the  Twins  made 
their  way  to  the  platform  and  sat  down  on 
a  bench  near  the  edge  of  it.  Many  other 
people  were  sitting  or  standing  about.  An 

1  Pronounced  fdsh. 


old  man  stood  up  on  the  platform.  He  told 
the  story  of  CuchulainI--the  " Hound  of 
Culain" — and  howhe  fought  all  the  greatest 
warriors  of  the  world  on  the  day  he  first 
took  arms. 

When  he  had  finished,  another  man  took 
his  place  and  told  the  story  of  Deirdre  and 
Naisi,  and  another  told  the  fate  of  the  four 
children  of  Lir  that  were  turned  into  four 
beautiful  swans  by  their  cruel  stepmother. 

And  when  the  stories  were  finished  a 
prize  was  given  for  the  best  one,  and  the 
Twins  were  glad  that  it  was  for  the  story 
of  Deirdre,  for  that  tale  was  like  an  old 
friend  to  them. 

After  that  there  was  music,  and  the 
dances  of  old  Ireland  — the  reel  and  the  lilt. 
And  when  last  of  all  came  the  Irish  jig, 
the  old  woman  put  her  basket  down  on 
the  ground. 

"Sure,  the  music  is  like  the  springtime 
in  my  bones,"  she  said  to  the  Twins.  "Be- 
dad,  I'd  the  foot  of  the  world  on  me  when 

1  Pronounced  Koohoolin. 

154 


I  was  a  girl  and  I  can  still  shake  one  with 
the  best  of  them,  if  I  do  say  it  myself." 

She  put  her  hands  on  her  hips  and  be 
gan  to  dance !  The  music  got  into  every 
body  else's  bones,  too,  and  soon  everybody 


around  the  platform,  and  on  it,  too,  —  old 
and  young,  large  and  small,  -  -  was  danc 
ing  gayly  to  the  sound  of  it. 

The  Twins  danced  with  the  rest,  and  they 
were  having  such  a  good  time  that  they 
might  have  forgotten  to  go  home  at  all  if  all 
of  a  sudden,  Larry  had  n't  shaken  Eileen's 
arm  and  said,  "Look  there  !  " 

"Where?"  Eileen  said. 

"There!"  said  Larry.  "The  rough  man 
with  the  brown  horse." 

The  moment  Eileen  saw  the  man  with 
the  brown  horse  she  took  Larry's  hand 
and  they  both  ran  as  fast  as  they  could 
back  to  their  Father. 

"We  saw  the  Tinker!"  they  cried  the 
moment  they  saw  Mr.  McQueen. 

"  Then  we  'd  as  well  be  starting  home/' 
said  Mr.  McQueen.  "  I  'd  rather  not  be  meet 
ing  the  gentleman  on  the  road  after  dark." 

He  got  Colleen  and  put  her  into  the  cart 
once  more.  Then  he  and  the  Twins  had 
something  to  eat.  They  bought  a  ginger 
cake  shaped  like  a  rabbit,  and  another  like 


a  man  from  one  of  the  hawkers,  and  they 
bought  some  sugar  sticks,  too,  and  these, 
with  what  they  had  brought  from  home, 
made  their  supper. 

Then    Mr.   McQueen    brought   out   his 
'57 


notched  stick.  " We've  sold  the  pig,"  he 
said,  with  his  finger  on  the  first  notch,  "  and 
the  butter  and  eggs  was  the  second  notch." 
Then  he  went  over  all  the  other  notches. 
"  And  besides  all  else  I  've  bought  Herself 
a  shawl,"  he  said  to  the  Twins. 

The  Twins  wanted  to  get  home  because 
the  Secret  was  getting  so  big  inside  of 
them,  they  knew  they  could  n't  possibly  hold 
it  in  much  longer,  and  they  did  n't  want 
to  let  it  out  until  they  were  at  home  and 
could  tell  their  Father  and  Mother  both  at 
the  same  time.  So  they  said  good-bye  to 
Diddy,  and  Eileen  took  off  the  ribbons  and 
kept  them  to  remember  her  by.  Then  they 
hurried  away. 

It  was  after  dark  when  at  last  they  drove 
into  the  yard.  Mrs.  McQueen  came  run 
ning  to  the  door  to  greet  them  and  hear  all 
about  the  Fair. 

Eileen  and  Larry  told  her  about  the  prize, 
and  about  Lady  Kathleen  buying  the  pig, 
and  about  seeing  the  Tinker,  while  their 
Father  was  putting  up  Colleen. 

158 


Then  when  he  came  in  with  all  his  bun 
dles,  and  took  the  three  golden  sovereigns 
out  of  his  pocket,  to  show  to  the  Mother, 
the  Twins  could  n't  keep  still  another  min 
ute.  "  It 's  for  you !  To  pay  the  rent  1 "  they 
cried. 

The  Father  and  Mother  looked  at  each 
other.  "  Now,  what  are  they  at  all,"  said 
Mrs.  McQueen,  "but  the  best  children  in 
the  width  of  the  world  ?  Was  n't  I  after 
telling  you  that  we  'd  make  it  out  somehow? 
And  to  think  of  her  being  a  thoroughbred 
like  that,  and  we  never  knowing  it  at  all." 
She  meant  the  pig ! 

But  Mr.  McQueen  never  said  a  word. 
He  just  gave  Larry  and  Eileen  a  great  hug. 

Then  Mr.  McQueen  went  over  all  the 
errands  with  his  wife,  and  last  of  all  he 
brought  out  the  shawl.  ' '  There,  old  woman, ' ' 
he  said,  "  is  a  fairing  for  you  !  " 

"The  Saints  be  praised  for  this  day!" 
cried  Mrs.  McQueen.  "  The  rent  paid,  and 
me  with  a  fine  new  shawl  the  equal  of  any 
in  the  parish." 


It  was  a  happy  family  that  went  to  bed 
in  the  little  farmhouse  that  night.  Only  Mrs. 
McQueen  did  n't  sleep  well.  She  got  up  a 
number  of  times  in  the  night  to  be  sure 
there  were  no  Tinkers  prowling  about. 
11  For  one  can't  be  too  careful  with  so  much 
money  in  the  house,"  she  said  to  herself. 

1 60 


XIV 

SUNDAY 


XIV 

SUNDAY 

THE  next  Sunday  all  the  McQueen  fam 
ily  went  to  Mass  and  Mrs.  McQueen  wore 
her  new  shawl.  The  chapel  was  quite  a  dis 
tance  away,  and  as  they  walked  and  all  the 
neighbors  walked,  too,  they  had  a  pleasant 
time  talking  together  along  the  way. 

Dennis  and  the  Twins  walked  together, 
and  Larry  and  Eileen  told  Dennis  all  about 
the  Fair,  and  about  selling  the  pig  to  the 
Lady  Kathleen,  and  "Begorra,"  said  Den 
nis,  "  but  that  little  pig  was  after  bringing 
you  all  the  luck  in  the  world,  was  n't  she?" 

All  the  other  boys  and  girls  wanted  to 
hear  about  it.  Most  of  them  had  never  been 
to  a  Fair.  So  Eileen  and  Larry  talked  all 
the  way  to  church,  and  that  was  two  miles 
and  a  half  of  talk,  the  shortest  way  you 
could  go. 

163 


Just  as  they  neared  the  church,  what 
should  they  see  but  Grannie  Malone,  com 
ing  in  grandeur,  riding  on  a  jaunting-car! 
Beside  her  was  a  big  man  with  a  tall  hat 
on  his  head. 

"  'T  is  her  son  Michael,  back  from  the 
States!"  cried  the  Twins.  "He  said  in  a 
letter  he  was  coming." 

They  ran  as  fast  as  they  could  to  reach 
the  church  door  in  time  to  see  them  go  in. 
Everybody  else  stopped,  too,  they  were  so 
surprised,  and  everybody  said  to  everybody 
else,  "Well,  for  dear's  sake,  if  that's  not 
Michael  Malone  come  back  to  see  his  old 
Mother!" 

And  then  they  whispered  among  them 
selves,  "  Look  at  the  grand  clothes  on  him, 
and  the  scarf  pin  the  bigness  of  a  ha' -penny 
piece,  and  the  hat !  Sure,  America  must  be 
the  rich  place  entirely." 

And  when  Michael  got  out  of  the  cart 
and  helped  out  his  old  Mother,  there  were 
many  hands  held  out  for  him  to  shake,  and 
many  old  neighbors  for  him  to  greet. 

164 


"This  is  a  proud  day  for  you,  Grannie 
Malone,"  said  Mrs.  McQueen. 

11  It  is,"  said  Grannie,  "and  a  sad  day, 
too,  for  he 's  after  taking  me  back  to  America, 
and  'tis  likely  I'll  never  set  my  two  eyes 
on  old  Ireland  again,  when  once  the  width 
of  the  sea  comes  between  us." 

165 


She  wiped  her  eyes  as  she  spoke.  Then 
the  bell  rang  to  call  the  people  into  the 
chapel.  It  was  little  the  congregation  heard 
of  the  service  that  day,  for  however  much 
they  tried  they  could  n't  help  looking  at  the 
back  of  Michael's  head  and  at  Grannie's 
bonnet. 

And  afterward,  when  all  the  people  were 
outside  the  church  door,  Grannie  Malone 
said  to  different  old  friends  of  Michael, 
"Come  along  to  my  house  this  afternoon, 
and  listen  to  Himself  telling  about  the 
States!" 

That  afternoon  when  the  McQueens  had 
finished  their  noon  meal,  the  whole  family 
walked  up  the  road  to  Grannie's  house. 
There  were  a  good  many  people  there  be 
fore  them.  Grannie's  little  house  was  full  to 
the  door.  Michael  stood  by  the  fireplace, 
and  as  the  McQueens  came  in  he  was  say 
ing,  "It's  the  truth  I'm  telling  you!  There 
are  over  forty  States  in  the  Union,  and 
many  of  them  bigger  than  the  whole  of 
Ireland  itself  I  There  are  places  in  it  where 

166 


you  could  travel  as  far  as  from  Dublin  to 
Belfast  without  ever  seeing  a  town  at  all ; 
just  fields  without  stones  or  trees  lying 
there  begging  for  the  plow,  and  sorrow  a 
person  to  give  it  them !  " 

"Will  you  listen  to  that  now?"  said 
Grannie. 

"And  more  than  that,  if  you'll  believe 
me,"  Michael  went  on,  "there  do  be  places 
in  America  where  they  give  away  land,  let 
alone  buying  it  1  Just  by  going  and  living 
on  it  for  a  time  and  doing  a  little  work  on 
it,  you  can  get  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
of  land,  for  your  own,  mind  you  !  " 

"The  Saints  preserve  us,  but  that  might 
be  like  Heaven  itself,  if  I  may  make  bold 
to  say  so,"  said  Mrs.  Maguire. 

"You  may  well  say  that,  Mrs.  Maguire/1 
Michael  answered,  "  for  there,  when  a  man 
has  bent  his  back,  and  put  in  sweat  and 
labor  to  enrich  the  land,  it  is  not  for  some 
one  else  he  does  it,  but  for  himself  and  his 
children.  Of  course,  the  land  that  is  given 
away  is  far  from  big  cities,  and  it 's  queer 

167 


and  lonely  sometimes  on  the  distant  farms, 
for  they  do  not  live  in  villages,  as  we  do, 
but  each  farmhouse  is  by  itself  on  its  own 
land,  and  no  neighbors  handy.  So  for  my 
self,  I  stayed  in  the  big  city." 

"You  seem  to  have  prospered,  Michael," 
said  Mr.  McQueen. 

"I  have  so,"  Michael  answered.  "There 
are  jobs  in  plenty  for  the  willing  hands. 
Sure,  no  Irishman  would  give  up  at  all 
when  there  's  always  something  new  to  try. 
And  there  's  always  somebody  from  the  old 
sod  there  to  help  you  if  the  luck  turns  on 
you.  Do  you  remember  Patrick  Doran, 
now  ?  He  lived  forninst  the  blacksmith  shop 
years  ago.  Well,  Patrick  is  a  great  man. 
He 's  a  man  of  fortune,  and  a  good  friend 
to  myself.  One  year  when  times  were  hard, 
and  work  not  so  plenty,  I  lost  my  job,  and 
did  n't  Patrick  help  me  to  another  the  very 
next  week  ?  Not  long  after  that  Patrick  ran 
for  Alderman,  and  myself  and  many  an 
other  like  me,  worked  hard  for  to  get  him 
elected,  and  since  then  I  've  been  in  politics 

168 


myself.  First  Patrick  got  me  a  job  on  the 
police  force,  and  then  I  was  Captain,  and 
since  then,  by  one  change  and  another,  if  I 
do  say  it,  I  'm  an  Alderman  myself  I  " 

"It 's  wonderful,  sure,"  Mr.  Maguire  said, 
when  Michael  had  finished,  "but  I'm  not 
wishful  for  to  change.  Sure,  old  Ireland  is 
good  enough  for  me,  and  I  'd  not  be  miss 
ing  the  larks  singing  in  the  spring  in  the 
green  fields  of  Erin,  and  the  smell  of  the 
peat  on  the  hearth  in  winter.  It 's  queer  and 
lonesome  I  'd  be  without  these  things,  and 
that's  the  truth." 

He  threw  his  head  back  and  began  to 
sing.  Everybody  joined  in  and  sang,  too. 
This  is  the  song  they  sang :  — 

"  Old  Ireland  you  're  my  jewel  sure, 
My  heart's  delight  and  glory, 
Till  Time  shall  pass  his  empty  glass 
Your  name  shall  live  in  story. 

u  And  this  shall  be  the  song  for  me, 
The  first  my  heart  was  learning, 
When  first  my  tongue  its  accents  flung, 
Old  Ireland,  you're  my  darling! 
i6q 


From  Dublin  Bay  to  Cork's  Sweet  Cove, 

Old  Ireland,  you  're  my  darling 

My  darling,  my  darling, 

From  Dublin  Bay  to  Cork's  Sweet  Cove.. 

Old  Ireland,  you  're  my  darling." 


XV 

MR.  MCQUEEN  MAKES  UP 
HIS  MIND 


XV 

MR.  MCQUEEN  MAKES  UP 
HIS  MIND 

MICHAEL  sang  with  the  others.  And  when 
the  song  was  ended,  he  said,  "Tis  a  true 
word,  Mr.  Maguire,  that  there's  no  place 
like  old  Ireland;  and  you'll  not  find  an 
Irishman  anywhere  in  America  that  would 
n't  put  the  man  down  that  said  a  word 
against  her.  But  what  with  the  landlords 
taking  every  shilling  you  can  scrape  to 
gether  and  charging  you  higher  rent  when 
ever  you  make  a  bit  of  an  improvement  on 
your  farm,  there  's  no  chance  at  all  to  get 
on  in  the  world.  And  with  the  children, 
God  bless  them,  coming  along  by  sixes  and 
dozens,  and  little  for  them  to  do  at  home, 
and  no  place  to  put  them  when  they  grow 
up,  sure,  it's  well  to  go  where  they've  a 
better  chance. 


11  Look  at  the  schools  now  !  If  you  could 
see  the  school  that  my  Patrick  goes  to, 
you  'd  never  rest  at  all  until  your  children 
had  the  same !  Sure,  the  schoolhouses  are 
like  palaces  over  there,  and  as  for  learn 
ing,  the  children  pick  it  up  as  a  hen  does 
corn!" 

4 'And  are  there  no  faults  with  America, 
whatever?"  Mr.  McQueen  said  to  Michael. 

"  There  do  be  faults  with  her,"  Michael 
answered,  "and  I'll  never  be  the  man  to 
say  otherwise.  There's  plenty  of  things  to 
be  said  about  America  that  would  leave 
you  thinking  't  is  a  long  way  this  side  of 
Heaven.  But  whatever  it  is  that 's  wrong, 
'tis  the  people  themselves  that  make  it 
so,  and  by  the  same  token  it  is  themselves 
that  can  cure  the  trouble  when  they  're  so 
minded.  It's  not  like  having  your  troubles 
put  down  on  you  by  the  people  that's  above 
you,  and  that  you  can't  reach  at  all  for  to 
be  correcting  them!  All  I  say  is  there's  a 
better  chance  over  there  for  yourself  and 
the  children." 

'74 


The  Twins  and  Dennis  and  the  other 
young  people  were  getting  tired  of  sitting 
still  by  this  time,  and  when  Michael  stopped 
talking  about  America  they  jumped  up.  The 
children  ran  outdoors  and  played  tag  around 
Grannie's  house,  and  the  older  people  stayed 
inside. 

By  and  by  Grannie  came  to  the  door  and 
called  them.  "  Come  in,  every  one  of  you," 
she  cried,  "and  have  a  fine  bit  of  cake  with 
currants  in  it!  Sure,  Michael  brought  the 
currants  and  all  the  things  for  to  make 
it  yesterday,  thinking  maybe  there 'd  be 
neighbors  in.  And  maybe  't  is  the  last  bit 
of  cake  I' 11  be  making  for  you  at  all,  for  't is 
but  two  weeks  now  until  we  start  across 
the  water."  She  wiped  her  eyes  on  her 
apron. 

Mr.  McQueen  was  very  quiet  as  he 
walked  home  with  Mrs.  McQueen  and  the 
Twins.  And  that  evening,  after  the  chil 
dren  were  in  bed,  he  sat  for  a  long  time 
silent,  with  his  pipe  in  his  mouth.  His  pipe 
went  out  and  he  did  not  notice  it.  By  and 


by  he  said  to  Mrs.  McQueen,  "I  Ve  made 
up  my  mind — '" 

"The  Lord  save  us!  To  what?"  said 
Mrs.  McQueen. 

"To  go  to  America,"  said  Mr.  McQueen. 

Mrs.  McQueen  hid  her  face  in  her  hands 
and  rocked  back  and  forth  and  cried.  "To 
be  leaving  the  place  I  was  born,  and  where 
my  father  and  mother  were  born  before 
me,  and  all  the  neighbors,  and  this  old 

176 


house  that  's  been  home  since  ever  I  mar 
ried  you --'twill  break  the  heart  in  my 
body,"  she  said. 

"  I  like  that  part  of  it  no  better  than  your 
self,"  said  Mr.  McQueen,  "but  when  I 
think  of  the  years  to  come,  and  Larry  and 
Eileen  growing  up  to  work  as  hard  as  we 
have  worked  without  getting  much  at  all, 
and  think  of  the  better  chance  altogether 
they  '11  have  over  there,  sure,  I  can't  be 
thinking  of  the  pain,  but  only  of  the  hope 
there  is  in  it  for  them." 

"I  've  seen  this  coming  ever  since  the 
children  told  us  about  Grannie  Malone's 
letter,"  said  Mrs.  McQueen.  "'T  is  Michael 
has  put  this  in  your  head." 

"  'T  is  not  Michael  alone,"  said  Mr.  Mc 
Queen  ;  "  't  is  also  other  things.  To-morrow 
I  pay  Conroy  the  rent  money.  And  it  will 
take  all  that  the  pig  brought  and  all  I  Ve 
been  able  to  rake  and  scrape  myself,  and 
nothing  left  over  at  all.  And  there  's  but 
ourselves  and  the  Twins,  and  the  year  has 
not  been  a  bad  one.  We  have  had  the  pig, 

177 


which  we  would  n't  be  having  another  year. 
And  what  would  it  be  like  if  there  were 
more  of  us  to  feed,  and  no  more  pigs  to  be 
found  in  the  bog  like  manna  from  Heaven, 
to  be  helping  us  out?" 

"Sure,  if  it  's  for  the  children,"  sobbed 
Mrs.  McQueen,  "  I  'd  go  anywhere  in  the 
world,  and  that  you  know  well." 

"I  do  know  it,"  said  Mr.  McQueen. 
"And  since  we  're  going  at  all,  let  it  be 
soon.  We'll  go  with  Grannie  and  Michael." 

"In  two  weeks'  time?"  cried  Mrs.  Mc 
Queen. 

"We  will  so,"  said  Mr.  McQueen.  "  I  've 
no  debts  behind  me,  and  we  can  sell  the 
cows  and  hens,  and  take  with  us  whatever 
we  need  from  the  house.  Michael  Malone 
will  lend  me  the  money  and  find  me  a  job 
when  we  get  there.  The  likes  of  this  chance 
will  never  befall  us  again,  and  faith,  we  '11 
take  it." 

"Did  he  tell  you  so?"  asked  Mrs.  Mc 
Queen. 

"  He  did,  indeed." 
178 


"  Well,  then,  I  've  no  other  word  to  say, 
and  if  it  must  be  done,  the  sooner  the  bet 
ter,"  said  Mrs.  McQueen. 

That  night  she  lay  awake  a  long  time. 
She  was  planning  just  what  they  should 
take  with  them  to  their  new  home,  and  try 
ing  to  think  what  the  new  home  would  be 
like. 


XVI 

MR.  MCQUEEN  PAYS  THE  RENT 


XVI 

MR.  MCQUEEN  PAYS  THE  RENT 

THE  next  morning  Mr.  McQueen  went  to 
Mr.  Conroy  and  paid  the  rent.  Then  he  said, 
"This  is  the  last  rent  I'll  be  paying  you, 
Mr.  Conroy!" 

Mr.  Conroy  was  surprised.  "What  do 
you  mean  by  that?"  he  said. 

"  I  mean  that  I  'm  going  to  leave  old  Ire 
land,"  said  Mr.  McQueen. 

"Well,  now!  "cried  Mr.  Conroy.  "To 
think  of  a  sensible  man  like  yourself  leav 
ing  a  good  farm  to  go  off,  dear  knows 
where  !  And  you  not  knowing  what  you  '11 
do  when  you  get  there  as  like  as  any  way  1 
I  thought  you  had  better  sense,  McQueen." 

"It's  because  of  my  better  sense  that 
I  'm  going,"  said  Mr.  McQueen.  "  Faith, 
do  you  think  I  'd  be  showing  the  judgment 
of  an  old  goat  to  stay  where  every  penny  I 

183 


can  get  out  of  the  land  I  have  to  pay  back 
in  rent?  I'm  going  to  America  where 
there  '11  be  a  chance  for  myself." 

"  I  thought  Michael  Malone  would  be 
sowing  the  seeds  of  discontent  in  this  par 
ish,  with  his  silk  hats  and  his  grand  talk," 
said  Mr.  Conroy  angrily,  "but  I  didn't 
think  you  were  the  fish  to  be  caught  with 
fine  words !  " 

"  If  the  seeds  of  discontent  have  been 
sown  in  this  parish,  Terence  Conroy,"  said 
Mr.  McQueen,  "'tis  you  and  the  likes  of 
you  that  have  plowed  and  harrowed  the 
ground  ready  for  them !  Do  you  think  we  're 
wishful  to  be  leaving  our  old  homes  and  all 
our  friends  ?  But 't  is  you  that  makes  it  too 
hard  entirely  for  people  to  stay.  And  I  can 
tell  you  that  if  you  keep  on  with  others  as 
you  have  with  me,  raising  the  rent  when 
any  work  is  done  to  improve  the  farm, 
you  '11  be  left  in  time  with  no  tenants  at  all. 
And  then  where  will  you  be  yourself,  Ter 
ence  Conroy?" 

Mr,  Conroy's  face  was  red  with  anger, 
184 


but  he  said,  "While  I'm  not  needing  you 
to  teach  me  my  duty,  I  will  say  this,  Mc 
Queen.  You're  a  good  farmer,  and  I  hate 
to  see  you  do  a  foolish  thing  for  yourself. 
If  you  '11  stay  on  the  farm,  I  '11  not  raise  the 
rent  on  you." 

"You're  too  late,  altogether,"  said  Mr. 
McQueen;  "and  as  you  said  yourself  I  'm 
not  the  fish  to  be  caught  with  fine  words. 
I  know  better  than  to  believe  you.  I  '11  be 
sailing  from  Queenstown  in  two  weeks' 
•  time." 

And  with  that  he  stalked  out  of  the  room 
and  slammed  the  door,  leaving  Mr.  Conroy 
in  a  very  bad  state  of  mind. 

All  that  Larry  and  Eileen  could  remem 
ber  of  the  next  two  weeks  was  a  queer  jum 
ble  of  tears  and  good-byes,  of  good  wishes 
and  blessings,  and  strange,  strange  feelings 
they  had  never  had  before.  Their  Mother 
went  about  with  a  white  face  and  red  eyes, 
and  their  Father  was  very  silent  as  he 
packed  the  few  household  belongings  they 
were  to  take  with  them  to  their  new  home. 


At  last  the  great  day  came.  The  Mo 
Queens  got  up  very  early  that  morning,  ate 
their  potatoes  and  drank  their  tea  from  a  few 
cracked  and  broken  dishes  which  were  to 
be  left  behind.  Then,  when  they  had  tidied 
up  the  hearth  and  put  on  their  wraps  ready 
to  go,  Mrs.  McQueen  brought  some  water 
to  quench  the  fire  on  the  hearth.  She 
might  almost  have  quenched  it  with  her 
tears.  And  as  she  poured  the  water  upon  the 
ashes  she  crooned  this  little  song '  sadly  to 
herself:  - 

"  Vein  of  my  heart,  from  the  lone  mountain 
The  smoke  of  the  turf  will  die. 
And  the  stream  that  sang  to  the  young  children 
Run  down  alone  from  the  sky  — 
On  the  doorstone,  grass  —  and  the 
Cloud  lying 
Where  they  lie 
In  the  old  country." 

Mr.  McQueen  and  the  Twins  stood  still 
with  their  bundles  in  their  hands  until  she 
had  finished  and  risen  from  her  knees, 

1  Copyright  of  this  poem  by  Herbert  Trench,  held  by 
John  Lane. 

1 86 


then  they  went  quietly  out  the  door,  all  foui 
together,  and  closed  it  after  them. 

Mrs.  McQueen  stooped  to  gather  a  little 
bunch  of  shamrock  leaves  which  grew  by 
the  doorstone,  and  then  the  McQueen  fam 
ily  was  quite,  quite  ready  for  the  long  jour 
ney. 

Mr.  Maguire  had  bought  Colleen  and  the 
cows,  and  he  was  to  have  the  few  hens  that 

19, 


v/ere  left  for  taking  the  McQueen  family  to 
the  train. 

Larry  and  Eileen  saw  him  coming  up 
the  road.  "Here  comes  Mr.  Maguire  with 
the  cart!"  they  cried,  "and  Dennis  is  driv 
ing  the  jaunting-car  with  Michael  and  Gran 
nie  on  it." 

They  soon  reached  the  little  group  by 
the  roadside,  and  then  the  luggage  was 
loaded  into  the  cart.  Mrs.  McQueen  got  up 
with  Grannie  on  one  side  of  the  jaunting- 
car  and  Eileen  sat  between  them.  Michael 
and  Mr.  McQueen  were  on  the  other  side 
with  Larry.  The  small  bags  and  bundles 
were  put  in  the  well  of  the  jaunting-car. 

"Get  up!"  cried  Dennis,  and  off  they 
started.  Mrs.  McQueen  looked  back  at  the 
old  house,  and  cried  into  her  new  shawl. 
Grannie  was  crying,  too.  But  Michael  said, 
"Wait  until  you  see  your  new  home,  and 
sure,  you  '11  be  crying  to  think  you  were  n't 
in  it  before!"  And  that  cheered  them  up 
again,  and  soon  a  turn  in  the  road  hid  the 
old  house  from  their  sight  forever. 

1 88 


The  luggage  was  heavy,  and  Colleen  was 
slow.  So  it  took  several  hours  to  reach  the 
railroad.  It  took  longer,  too,  because  all  the 
people  in  the  village  ran  out  of  their  houses 
to  say  good-bye.  When  they  passed  the 
schoolhouse,  the  Master  gave  the  children 
leave  to  say  good-bye  to  the  Twins.  He 
even  came  out  to  the  road  himself  and 
shook  hands  with  everybody. 

189. 


But  for  all  that,  when  the  train  came 
rattling  into  the  station,  there  they  all  were 
on  the  platform  in  a  row  ready  to  get  on 
board.  When  it  stopped,  the  guard  jumped 
down  and  opened  the  door  of  a  compart 
ment.  He  put  Grannie  in  first,  then  Mrs. 
McQueen  and  the  Twins.  They  were 
dreadfully  afraid  the  train  would  start  be 
fore  Mr.  McQueen  and  Michael  and  all  the 
luggage  were  on  board. 

It  was  the  first  time  Grannie  had  ever 
seen  a  train,  or  the  Twins  either.  But  at 
last  they  were  all  in,  and  the  guard  locked 
the  door.  Larry  and  Eileen  looked  out  of 
the  window  and  waved  their  hands  to  Mr. 
Maguire  and  Dennis.  The  engine  whistled, 
the  wheels  began  to  turn,  and  above  the 
noise  the  Twins  heard  Dennis  call  out  to 
them,  il  Sure,  I  '11  be  coming  along  to 
America  myself  some  day." 

"We'll  be  watching  for  you/'  Eileen 
called  back. 

Then  they  passed  the  station,  and  were 
soon  racing  along  over  the  open  fields  at 

!90 


what  seemed  to  poor  Grannie  a  fearful  rate 
of  speed. 

"  Murder!  murder !  "  she  screamed.  "  Is 
it  for  this  I  left  my  cabin  ?  To  be  broken 
in  bits  on  the  track  like  a  piece  of  old 
crockery !  Wirra,  wirra,  why  did  I  ever  let 
myself  be  persuaded  at  all  ?  Ochanee,  but 
it  is  Himself  has  the  soothering  tongue  in 
his  mouth  to  coax  his  old  Mother  away  for 
to  destroy  her  entirely!" 

Michael  laughed  and  patted  her  arm,  and 
" Whist  now,"  he  said,  "sure,  I'd  never 
bring  you  where  harm  would  come  to  you, 
and  that  you  know  well.  Look  out  of  the 
window,  for  'tis  the  last  you'll  be  seeing 
of  old  Ireland." 

Grannie  dried  her  eyes,  but  still  she  clung 
to  Michael's  arm,  and  when  the  train  went 
around  a  curve  she  crossed  herself  and  told 
her  beads  as  fast  as  she  could. 

The  Twins  were  not  frightened.  They 
were  busy  seeing  things.  And  besides, 
Larry  had  Grannie's  piece  of  coal  in  his 
pocket.  From  the  window  they  caught 

192 


glimpses  of  distant  blue  hills,  and  of  lakes 
still  more  blue.  They  passed  by  many  a 
brown  bog,  and  many  a  green  field  with 
farmers  and  farmers'  wives  working  in 
them.  The  hillsides  were  blue  with  blos 
soming  flax,  and  once  they  passed  a  field  all 
spread  with  white  linen  bleaching  in  the  sun. 

They  flew  by  little  towns  with  queer 
names,  like  Ballygrady  and  Ballylough, 
and  once  when  they  were  quite  near  Cork 
they  saw  the  towers  of  Blarney  Castle. 

At  last  the  train  rattled  into  a  great 
station.  There  was  so  much  noise  from 
puffing  engines  and  rumbling  trucks  and 

'93 


shouting  men,  that  the  Twins  could  only 
take  hold  of  their  Mother's  hands  and 
keep  close  behind  their  Father  as  he  fol 
lowed  Michael,  with  Grannie  clinging  to 
him,  to  another  train.  Then  there  were 
more  flying  fields,  and  a  city  and  more 
fields  still,  until  they  reached  Queenstown. 

The  next  thing  they  knew  they  were 
walking  across  a  gangplank  and  on  to  a 
boat.  The  Twins  had  never  seen  anything 
larger  than  a  rowboat  before,  and  this  one 
looked  very  big  to  them,  though  it  was 
only  a  lighter.  This  lighter  was  to  carry 
luggage  and  passengers  from  the  dock  to 
the  great  steamer  lying  outside  the  harbor 
in  the  deep  water  of  the  main  channel. 

When  they  were  all  safely  on  board  the 
lighter,  and  Michael  had  counted  their 
bundles  to  be  sure  they  had  not  lost  any 
thing,  the  Twins  and  their  Father  and 
Mother,  with  Michael  and  Grannie,  stood 
by  the  deck  rail  and  looked  back  at  the 
dock.  It  was  crowded  with  people  running 
to  and  fro,  There  were  groups  of  other 

194 


emigrants  like  themselves,  surrounded  by 
great  piles  of  luggage  —  waiting  for  the 
next  lighter,  for  one  boat  would  not  carry 
all  who  wanted  to  go. 

There  were  many  good-byes  being  said 
and  many  tears  falling,  and  in  the  midst 
of  all  the  noise  and  confusion  the  sailors 
were  loading  tons  of  barrels  and  bags  and 
boxes  and  trunks  on  board  the  ship. 

There  was  no  friend  to  see  them  off, 
but  when  they  saw  people  crying  all  about 
them,  the  Twins  cried  a  little,  too,  for  sym 
pathy,  and  even  Mr.  McQueen's  eyes  were 
red  along  the  rims. 

At  last  the  gangplanks  were  drawn  in,  and 
the  cables  thrown  off.  The  screws  began  to 
churn  the  green  water  into  white  foam,  and 
the  boat  moved  slowly  out  of  the  harbor. 

The  Twins  and  their  Father  and  Mother, 
with  Grannie  and  Michael,  stood  by  the 
rail  for  a  long  time,  and  watched  the  crowd 
on  the  pier  until  it  grew  smaller  and  smaller, 
and  at  last  disappeared  entirely  from  sight 
around  a  bend  in  the  Channel. 


They  stood  there  until  the  lighter  reached 
the  'great  ship  that  was  waiting  to  take 
them  across  the  water  to  a  new  world. 

And  when  at  last  they  were  safely  on 
board,  and  the  lighters  had  gone  back 
empty  into  the  harbor,  they  stood  on  the 
wide  deck  of  the  ship,  with  their  faces 
turned  toward  Ireland,  until  all  they  could 
see  of  it  in  the  gathering  dusk  was  a  strip 
of  dark  blue  against  the  eastern  sky,  with 
little  lights  in  cottage  windows  twinkling 
from  it  like  tiny  stars. 

Then  they  turned  their  faces  toward  the 
bright  western  sky. 


TWENTY  YEARS   AFTER 


TWENTY  YEARS  AFTER 

IN  the  middle  of  one  of  the  busiest  cross 
ings  in  Chicago,  there  stands  a  big  man  in 
a  blue  uniform.  His  eyes  are  blue,  and 
there  are  wrinkles  in  the  corners  of  them, 
the  marks  of  many  smiles. 

On  his  head  is  a  blue  cap,  and  under  the 
edge  of  the  cap  you  catch  a  glimpse  of  dark 
hair.  There  are  bands  of  gold  braid  on  his 
sleeve,  and  on  his  breast  is  a  large  silver  star. 

He  is  King  of  the  Crossing.  When  he 
blows  his  whistle,  all  the  street-cars  and 
automobiles  and  carriages --even  if  it  were 
the  carriage  of  the  Mayor  himself  -  -  stop 
stock-still.  Then  he  waves  his  white- 
gloved  hands  and  the  stream  of  people 
pours  across  the  street. 

If  there  is  a  very  small  boy  among  them, 
the  King  of  the  Crossing  sometimes  lays 
a  big  hand  on  his  shoulder  and  goes  with 

199 


him  to  the  curb.  And  he  has  been  known 
to  carry  a  small  girl  across  on  his  shoulder 
and  set  her  safely  down  on  the  other  side. 

When  the  people  are  all  across,  he  goes 
back  to  the  middle  of  the  street  once  more, 
and  blows  twice  on  his  little  whistle. 

Then  all  the  wheels  that  have  been 
standing  as  still  as  if  they  had  gone  to 
sleep  suddenly  wake  up,  and  go  rolling 
down  the  street,  while  those  that  have  just 
been  turning  stop  and  wait  while  the  big 
man  helps  more  people  over  the  crossing 
the  other  way. 

All  day  long  the  King  of  the  Crossing 
stands  there,  blowing  his  whistle,  waving 
his  white-gloved  hands,  and  turning  the 
stream  of  people  up  first  one  street,  then 
the  oth^r. 

Everybody  minds  him.  If  everybody 
did  n't,  they  might  get  run  over  and  wake 
up  in  a  hospital.  Oh,  he  must  be  minded, 
the  King  of  the  Crossing,  or  nobody  would 
be  safe  1 

When  the  long  day  is  over,  he  looks  up 
zoo 


the  street  and  sees  another  big  man  com 
ing.  This  man  wears  a  blue  uniform,  too, 
and  a  silver  star,  and  when  the  hands  on 
the  big  clock  at  the  corner  point  to  five,  he 
steps  into  the  place  of  the  King  of  the  Cross 
ing  and  reigns  in  his  stead. 

Then  the  King  jumps  on  to  the  platform 
of  a  passing  street-car,  and  by  and  by, 
when  it  has  gone  several  miles,  he  jumps 
off  again,  and  walks  up  the  street  to  a  little 
house  that's  as  neat  as  neat  can  be. 

It  stands  back  from  the  street  in  a  little 
green  yard.  The  house  is  painted  white, 
and  the  front  door  is  green.  But  he  doesn't 
go  to  the  front  door.  He  goes  round  by  the 
sidewalk  to  the  kitchen  door,  and  there  he 
does  n't  even  knock. 

He  opens  the  door  and  walks  right  in. 
Through  the  open  door  comes  the  smell 
of  something  good  cooking,  and  he  sees  a 
plump  woman  with  blue  eyes  that  have 
smile  wrinkles  in  the  corners,  just  like  his 
own,  and  crinkly  dark  hair,  just  like  his  own, 
too,  bending  over  the  stove.  She  is  just 

201 


tasting  the  something  that  smells  so  good, 
with  a  spoon. 

When  she  sees  the  big  man  in  the  door 
she  tastes  so  quickly  that  she  burns  her 
tongue!  But  she  can  use  it  just  the  same 
even  if  it  is  burned. 

She  runs  to  the  big  man  and  says,  "  And 
is  that  yourself,  now,  Larry  darling?  Sure, 
I  'm  that  glad  to  see  you,  I  've  scalded 
myself  with  the  soup!  " 

The  big  man  has  just  time  to  say,  "  Sure, 
Eileen,  you  were  always  a  great  one  for 
burning  yourself.  Do  you  remember  that 
day  at  Grannie  Malone's"  -when  out  into 
the  kitchen  tumble  a  little  Larry  and  a 
little  Eileen,  and  a  Baby.  They  have  heard 
his  voice,  and  they  fall  upon  the  King  of 
the  Crossing  as  if  he  were  n't  a  King  at  all 
-but  just  a  plain  ordinary  Uncle. 

They  take  off  his  cap  and  rumple  his  hair. 
They  get  into  his  pockets  and  find  some 
peppermints  there.  And  the  Baby  even 
tries  to  get  the  silver  star  off  his  breast  to 
put  into  her  mouth. 

202 


"Look  at  that  now,"  cries  Uncle  Larry. 
"Get  along  with  you!  Is  it  trying  to  take 
me  off  the  Force,  you  are?  Sure,  that  star 
was  never  intended  by  the  City  for  you  to 
cut  your  teeth  on." 

"She'll  poison  herself  with '  the  things 
she's  always  after  putting  in  her  mouth," 
cries  the  Mother.  She  seizes  the  Baby  and 
sets  her  in  a  safe  corner  by  herself,  gives 
her  a  spoon  and  says,  "There  now --you 
can  be  cutting  your  teeth  on  that." 

And  when  the  children  have  quite  worn 
Uncle  Larry  out,  he  sits  upon  the  floor, 
where  they  have  him  by  this  time,  and 
runs  his  fingers  through  his  hair,  which  is 
standing  straight  up,  and  says  to  the  Mo 
ther,  "  Sure,  Eileen,  when  you  and  I  were 
children  on  the  old  sod,  we  were  never  such 
spalpeens  as  the  likes  of  these !  They  have 
me  destroyed  entirely,  and  me  the  biggest 
policeman  on  the  Force!  Is  it  American 
they  are,  or  Irish,  I  want  to  know?" 

"It's  Irish-American  we  are,"  shouts 
little  Larry. 

203 


"And  with  the  heft  of  both  countries  in 
your  fists,"  groans  big  Larry. 

And  then  the  Mother,  who  has  been  lay 
ing  the  table,  meanwhile,  interferes.  "Come 
off  of  your  poor  Uncle,"  she  says,  "and  be 
eating  your  soup,  like  gentlemen  and  ladies. 
It's  getting  cold  on  you  waiting  for  you  to 
finish  your  antics.  Your  poor  Uncle  Larry 
won't  come  near  you  at  all,  and  you  all  the 
time  punishing  him  like  that." 

And  then  the  Baby,  still  sucking  her 
spoon,  is  lifted  into  her  high  chair.  A  chair 
is  placed  for  Uncle  Larry,  and  they  all  eat 
their  soup  around  the  kitchen  table,  just  as 
the  very  last  rays  of  the  summer  sun  make 
long  streaks  of  light  across  the  kitchen 
floor. 

"Where's  Dennis?"  says  Uncle  Larry, 
while  the  children  are  quiet  for  a  moment. 

"Oh,  it's  Himself  is  so  late  that  I  feed 
the  children  and  put  them  to  bed  before  he 
gets  home  at  all,"  says  the  Mother.  "It's 
little  he  sees  of  them  except  of  a  Sunday." 

"  It 's  likely  he  '11  live  the  longer  for  that," 
204 


says  Uncle  Larry.    He  looks  reproachfully 
at  the  children  and  rubs  his  head. 

And  then — "Mother,  tell  us,  what  kind 
of  a  boy  was  Uncle  Larry  when  you  and 
he  were  Twins  and  lived  in  Ireland,"  says 
little  Eileen. 

"The  best  in  the  width  of  the  world," 
says  her  Mother  promptly.  "  Were  n't  you, 
Larry?  Speak  up  and  tell  them  now." 

And  Uncle  Larry  laughs  and  says,  "  Sure, 
I  was  too  good  entirely!  It  wouldn't  be 
modest  to  tell  you  the  truth  about  myself." 

"Tell  us  about  Mother,  then,"  says  little 
Eileen.  "Was  she  the  best  in  the  width  of 
the  world,  too?" 

"Sure,  I  '11  never  be  telling  tales  on  my 
only  twin  sister,"  says  Uncle  Larry,  "  be 
yond  telling  you  that  there  was  many  an 
other  in  green  old  Ireland  just  like  her, 
whatever  kind  she  was.  But  I  can't  stay 
here  wearing  out  my  tongue  !  Look  out  the 
window !  The  chickens  have  gone  to  roost, 
and  the  sun  is  down.  So  get  along  with  you 
to  your  beds." 

205 


When  he  had  gone,  and  the  children  were 
in  bed,  and  the  house  quiet,  the  Mother  sat 
down  by  the  light  in  the  kitchen  with  a 
basket  of  mending  beside  her. 

And  while  she  darned  and  mended  and 
waited  for  Himself  to  come  home,  she  re 
membered  and  remembered  about  when  she 
was  little  Eileen,  herself,  and  the  King  of 
the  Crossing  was  just  her  twin  brother 
Larry. 

And  this  book  is  what  she  remembered. 


THE   END 


CAMBRIDGE  .  MASSACHUSETTS 
U    .    S    .    A 


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